UN : 600 MILLION GIRLS WORKFORCE!

UN : 600 MILLION GIRLS preparing to enter workforce

NEW YORK : There are ''multiple barriers'' and lack of training, keeping the largest generation of girls in human history from reaching their full potential said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday, to mark International Day of the Girl.

Noting that ''far too often', girls are not given the space and opportunities they need to achieve their full potential,'' he said  that today, 600 million adolescent girls are preparing to enter the workforce, ''transformed by innovation and automation'', in which female college graduates and workers are outnumbered.

Women make up less than 30 percent of graduates in information and technology and occupy less  than 30 percent of research and development jobs globally.

''Let us recommit to supporting every girl to supporting every girl to develop her skills, enter the workforce on equal terms and reach her full potential.

''Negative gender stereotypes related to girls education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics begin as early as primary school, and have the devastating effect of making them doubt their own potential,''  he added.

Highlighting the value of a support system, he said that having  role models in the fields where the presence of women is sparse, is key, and referenced the recent launch of Youth2030 in September 2018, a strategy aimed understanding youth needs, and supporting them in materializing their ideas.