SA's Top Girl Mathematician Celebrates

On 11 February 2022, the world celebrates the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and UN-Women, declared the Day in collaboration with institutions and civil society partners aiming to advance women and girls in science. This Day is an occasion to encourage full and equal admittance to and participation in science for women and girls.

According to the UN, gender stereotypes and gender-based biases hinder many girls and women from taking up and prevailing in careers in science across the world. UNESCO's Science Report shows that only 33 per cent of researchers are women, even though they represent 45 and 55 per cent of students at the Bachelor's and Master's levels of study, respectively. Forty-four per cent of those enrolled in PhD programmes.

"We need science, and science needs women," says South Africa's Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Former Executive Director of UN-Women. "This is not only about making a commitment to equal rights; it is also about making science more open, diverse and efficient. We need to ensure that women and girls are not only participating in STEM fields but are empowered to lead and innovate and that they are supported by workplace policies and organisational cultures that ensure their safety, consider their needs as parents, and incentivise them to advance and thrive in these careers."

Juliette Roux is one such girl in science. She is a Grade 12 learner at Herschel Girls High Schoolin Cape Town (Western Cape) and one of the country's top young mathematicians.

Last year, she was the Top Girl and Overall Runner-up of the Old Mutual South African Mathematics Olympiad (SAMO). Juliette was also one of two girls from South Africa who participated in the 2021 International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO). Here, she scored the highest of the team of six (two girls and four boys) and achieved the Top-6 status of all the girls who competed. In the University of Cape Town's Mathematical Olympiad, Juliette scored 100% for both the second and final rounds. She also scored 100% in the Netwerk24 Wiskunde-kompetisie last year.

With interest in pursuing astrophysics, Juliette says she is interested in space research and discovery. "I don't want to get into the rocket; that is not my thing. My dream is to study at Harvard or Stanford, but it depends on acceptance and budget."

"Taking part in mathematics competitions is not easy," explains Juliette. "For instance - I scored 16 out of 42 points in the IMO, and I was super happy with that and the bronze medal it earned me. The IMO consists of six questions that competitors must solve over two days. On the last day of the competition, I did not solve any problems in hours. With 30 minutes to go, I left my desk to stretch my legs and returned with a solution!"

Juliette says that "sometimes one struggles to find a solution for a question for hours, and other times the inspiration hits early on. Although some competitions require teamwork, most mathematics contests require a personal approach. What I mean is that it is unlikely that anyone else will come up with an identical solution. It's a very individual thought process applying your critical and logical thinking skills to solve the problems."

The South African Mathematics Foundation (SAMF), which organises the SAMO and the South African team's participation at the IMO, aims to get more girls involved in mathematics. "If you love mathematics, competing is an excellent way to increase your knowledge," Juliette concludes. "But, if you struggle with mathematics at school, you should not disregard the value of competitions. Not only is it amazing to make new friends, but it also motivates you to develop your mathematical problem-solving skills. Life is too short to hate something that you could have loved."

Juliette believes in living a balanced life, so she also excels in music. Earlier this year, she completed her Grade 8 Violin examinations with distinctionand recently performed in the Pieter Kooij Music Competition final. She is a beacon of hope for other girls who dream of a career in science.

"Queen Rania of Jordan said: 'If you educate a woman, you educate a family. If you educate a girl, you educate the future'", says Dr Karin-Therese Howell, a member of the SAMF's Advisory Committee for Mathematics and a mathematics lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch. She is also the founder and convenor of the African Women in Mathematics (AWiM) initiative which aims to build a network of female mathematicians in Africa. "I am a firm believer in educating girls in science. There is a great need for support and mentoring for African women in the mathematical sciences. Feedback from our African Women in Mathematics (AWiM) conference, hosted by Stellenbosch University,  has revealed a sad reality. In most communities across Africa, education for female learners is often not prioritised, encouraged or results in no further options. Although there are several initiatives worldwide, Africa is still lagging in its efforts. We need more role models of successful African women in the mathematical sciences and a network to support them."

For more information about the Mathematics Foundation's work to ensure broad-based participation in its various learner development programmes, visit www.samf.ac.za.