Coursera: PHL Has the Fastest Growth in Female Learner Enrollments in the World

ONE of the largest online learning platforms in the world, Coursera Inc. (NYSE: COUR) has released a new study that examines the impact of the pandemic on skills and learning trends in women.

The Women and Skills report compares pre-pandemic enrollment and performance data to trends seen on the Coursera platform from the onset of the health crisis through June 2021. It highlights an impressive increase in participation online learning among female learners around the world and in the Philippines.

With a 774% increase in female learner enrollments year over year, the Philippines ranks first out of 190 countries for the largest increase. More and more women are also joining certification training programs aimed at entry-level digital jobs.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021 says the pandemic has disproportionately affected women in the archipelago, ranking lower in 2020, with just 49 percent women in the workforce today.

“We believe… the new standard of distance working and e-learning is laying a solid foundation for a more inclusive recovery. While the participation of women in the labor market is low in the Philippines, in the long run we could see this increase as access to equal and employment-relevant online education leads to equal employment opportunities. ’employment,’ said Coursera India and Asia Pacific Managing Director Raghav. Gupta. “The encouraging trends in the report are a testament to the resilience of Filipino female learners and their determination to return to work and advance their careers. “

Women, skills assessment

THE MAJORITY (56%) of new learners in the Philippines today are women, bringing the total number of women enrolled in the country to 650,000.

The best skills among Filipinos reveal high investments in business. The top 10 skills from last year include communications (1.2 million registrations among Filipinos), leadership and management (880,000), entrepreneurship (740,000), marketing (630,000) and business analysis (550,000). Many of the most popular courses are also from the business field, including Excel Skills for Business (Macquarie University) and Write Professional Emails in English (Georgia Institute of Technology).

Trends among female learners in the Philippines align with global trends in female learners. Although business skills are the most popular, more and more women are enrolling in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM courses. For these, the gender gap narrowed from 38% female enrollment in 2019 to 43% in 2021. Filipino women are investing in essential STEM skills such as probabilities and statistics (680 000 enrollments), data analytics (490,000) and computer programming (480,000), with Programming from Everybody by the University of Michigan among the most enrolled.

Women in the Philippines are enrolling in more courses than before the pandemic, especially in certification training programs for entry-level digital jobs. Women’s enrollments in similar professional certificates increased from 33% in 2019 to 47% in 2021. Certificates from industry leaders such as Google, IBM, and Facebook are designed to prepare learners without a college degree or tech experience for a wide range of high-demand digital technologies. works.

Businesses, governments and campuses will continue to play a key role in closing the gender gap in the digital economy. This year, in programs where Coursera is used by various businesses, governments and campuses in the Philippines, the proportion of female learners enrolled was higher (44%, 57% and 54%, respectively), compared to the global context (36% , 51 percent and 42 percent, respectively). A better gender balance is likely to contribute to more diverse talent pools for employers.

“I graduated in computer science with only a handful of women by my side, and although a lot has changed since then, we still have important work to do to increase the representation of women in technology and leadership. Said Betty Vandenbosch, Content Manager at Coursera. . “Access to flexible and job-friendly education can help women acquire the new skills they need to access high-demand positions and achieve a better gender balance in the workforce.”

With over 87 million learners and 5,000 courses on the platform, Coursera has one of the largest datasets for identifying and measuring skills trends. The Women and Skills report includes information on 40 million new learners who enrolled during the pandemic between January 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021.