SCIENCE, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is indeed a flourishing field, but is it a promising field for the women involved in STEM? Statistics show only 29.3% of researchers worldwide are women. In engineering, it is 13% and only 26% of computer scientists are women.
Enriching, enthralling and empowering summarises best the journey of seven women STEM icons who were panelists in a recent webinar organised by the British Council, The Petri Dish and the Science Media Centre Malaysia. The webinar was hosted in conjunction with International Women’s Day on March 8. The event also witnessed the launch of the “Women in STEM “scholarship.
“Today, STEM is in dire need of diversity. We are facing uncertain times in terms of where the world is headed”, says Dr Sam Gooneratne, a principal lecturer in the School of Computing, Engineering & Digital Technologies at Teesside University.
According to her, it is extremely important that we have diverse viewpoints in tackling world problems and that half the world’s population must be included in the mission to safeguard our planet and people. Gooneratne’s talk resonated aptly with the webinar’s theme: “Celebrate the Difference: Women in STEM”.
Dr Dalia Chakrabarty stressed that we need more women in STEM to debunk the myth that “women in science are genetically indisposed in terms of contributing to STEM”. Dalia is a senior lecturer in computational statistics from Brunel University London.
She summarised her entire “career journey” as one of self-discovery.
Another scientist, Dr Oon Chern Ein, a cancer researcher at Universiti Sains Malaysia chipped in, saying, coming from an Asian household, pursuing her studies in Sweden and United Kingdom has exposed her to women empowerment on a different level and in a different culture.
Oon who is a “Study UK Alumni Award Winner 2022” believes that women have the caliber to contribute to nation-building through their scientific pursuits.
Leadership roles
Women in STEM are also taking up leadership roles and one example is Prof Dr Datuk Wira Raha Binti Abdul Rahim, CEO of the National Institute of Biotechnology, a division under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI).
“Being a woman scientist in Malaysia can be challenging especially if you plan to pursue your career in administration”, she says. However, despite the hurdles, she sees women having a place as facilitators and problem solvers to their male counterparts.
“My STEM career was an enriching experience as there is a diversity of roles and opportunities to find an avenue for me to contribute my talents and knowledge of which I am very passionate about.
“Being an academician, my role does not just limit me to being an educator but to contribute to research, knowledge transfer, industry and as an advisor to the government,” she added.
“It is such a privilege for me to see the direct impact of my contributions on students and community”, said Dr Sophie Foley, Associate Professor in Microbiology & Director of International Provision & Partnerships Edinburgh Napier University.
“We currently live in a world where we just cannot afford to lose the contributions of almost half of the world’s population. Overcoming the under-representation of women in STEM is essential to solve various world crises that we face today such as climate change and food security.
“Beyond breaking gender issues, women are also needed for their skill, talent, thoughts and ideas. Inclusion of more women in STEM translates to the creation of a diverse talent pool, ideas and perspectives, which are critical to solving today’s global problems,” she pointed out.
Prof Laura C Bishop from the Faculty of Science at Liverpool John Moores University says that women have many talents to offer to the world of STEM and are needed to facilitate the process of engaging in scientific discoveries.
She says that we need more women in STEM to empower them to achieve their ambitions and succeed in science.
Speaking on empowerment, Debbie Ann Loh, currently a UK STEM scholar, is confident that when young women enter STEM, they become icons of empowerment to the younger generation.
Oon agrees to Loh’s thoughts, adding: “Touching on how we can increase the involvement of young girls in STEM, she said that it is important to have role models to look up to.
“When challenges arise, we tend to look for role models who had crossed the bridge in similar situations to move forward in our own careers”, added Oon.
Referring to role models, Dahlia affirmed that facilitation is crucial for the younger generation for them to pave their own career path.
To this, Sam said: “That it is important for women who are already successful in their field to put themselves in the public domain and be visible to the next generation, making it easier to know whom to contact when in need of inspiration or advice.”
Navigating challenges in STEM
All the panelists in the webinar shared the challenges they faced in their journey.
One common driver among them is they were all passionate and had a goal to be achieved in their career. Being a molecular oncologist, Onn described her situation as being a “square peg in a round hole” as the area of research she was exploring was not popular and well understood in Malaysia when she started 10 years ago.
She was passionate about finding specific treatments for cancer but funding was limited for cancer research and her research area was more focused on natural products back then.
These challenges pushed her to go abroad and do attachments and work with like-minded scientists so she can move things in the right direction.
Dahlia pointed out that there is a decline in the number and performance of women scientists after their undergraduate studies.
The numbers could be seen decreasing after most women start their own family life and step into motherhood.
Dahlia shared her own struggle with endometriosis which has almost become like a disability to her. She said that women are expected to continue as usual, despite having to deal with many ailments unique to women.
The biased, inflexible and exclusionary culture that exists arises from the general perception that STEM is a male-dominated field.
Oon insisted that strong passion is important as women are primary caregivers for the family, especially in the ASEAN region. Oon’s passion has driven her to explore science communication to educate the public on targeted therapies by writing articles, conducting seminars and workshops. She is hopeful to find new treatments for cancer one day.
The panelists agreed that families play a support system role and it would be difficult to continue a career in STEM without the support of parents or spouses.
Sam was very grateful that her parents did not give in to societal pressure and forced her to study medicine when her passion was actually in chemical engineering.
Postgraduate experience in the UK
Debbie, another “UK Women in STEM Scholar”, is currently pursuing her postgraduate studies at Liverpool John Morris University. She describes her experience so far as enriching as she has classmates from 12 different countries.
Debbie adds that this gives her an opportunity to immerse herself in diverse cultures and listen to perspectives of students from different countries and cultures which allows her to look at the same problem from different dimensions.
When asked on how a post-graduate degree impacts a STEM career, Dalia stressed that it is becoming increasingly relevant in securing a solid employment after higher education and that the experience garnered during post-graduate studies is invaluable.
In current fast-evolving times, a post-graduate degree will indeed give a kickstart on the work needed to be done on industrial digitalization which is crucial in the whole move to Industry 4.0.
Speaking on postgraduate degrees in the UK, Sophie and Laura pointed out that depending on the course taken by students, pursuing a PG degree in the UK emphasizes employment opportunities for students.
Sophie elaborated that the heavy involvement in local industries contributes to the programme design, provision of placements and real industry case studies. The nature of the programme design helps bridge the STEM gap that exists among genders and in the STEM workforce.
Scholarships from the British Council
The British Council Scholarships for Women in STEM is supporting women who wish to pursue postgraduate studies in STEM at renowned universities in the UK. The scholarships are open to women in eight countries in Southeast Asia to obtain a Master’s degree or Early Academic Fellowship from selected UK universities which gives them the opportunity to further develop their careers in STEM subjects.
A total of 29 scholarships from six UK universities are available for Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The hosting UK universities are Brunel University, Teesside University, Liverpool John Moores University, Edinburgh Napier
University, University of Glasgow, and the University of York.
The scholarship is awarded for women with a STEM background, who can demonstrate a need for financial support and those that are keen to inspire upcoming generations of women to pursue careers in STEM.
Awardees will have access to economic support, including tuition fees, stipends, travel costs, visas, health coverage fees, and special support for mothers.
The webinar was moderated by Tan Su Lin, co-founder of Science Media Centre Malaysia.
