SEVERAL Malaysian women from the Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM) sector – who now hold court in the top echelons of the industry – unanimously agreed during a recent forum that their road to the top was no walk in the park.
Only a handful of women transcend their male counterparts in the STEM workforce, although female undergraduates dominate STEM courses in local institutions of higher learning.
On this note, British Council Malaysia launched their Women in STEM (WIS) scholarship for the third time to strengthen the opportunities in STEM for women to unleash their potential and forge equality. The scholarship comes with a unique equity component. It supports accompanying children.
As this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) celebration calls for action to embrace equity, the scholarship offered by British Council Malaysia is very much aligned with this persuasion.
Speaking on the theme of “Embracing Equity for Gender Equality”, the former WIS scholar, Debbie Ann Loh, defined equity as giving everyone a shoe but at the same time the key point is to know and understand that – the same shoe does not fit all sizes. Loh who pursued a Master’s in International Public Health postgraduate degree at Liverpool John Moores University is now a policy and research officer for the All-Parliamentary Group on Sustainable Development Goals.
Domesticity and the career woman
Taking on from Loh’s metaphorical analogy other panellists shared their thoughts on gender equality, touching on the role of women professionals and their role in domesticity – as working mothers with an eye on career growth.
“In many STEM fields, postgraduate degrees are essential for one to climb up the corporate ladder. But women must weigh in many factors before embarking on this, as they are the primary caregivers. I had to decide to do my PhD in Malaysia because of my young family at that time,” said Ts. Dr Mahaletchumy Arujanan, Executive Director of the Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre (MABIC).
Mahaletchumy said that she was doing a PhD while having two young girls who were in primary school and she had to juggle her household duties with the assistance of helpers. She sees her PhD journey as being fruitful. It has established her as the first academically trained science communicator in Malaysia and as a renowned science communicator internationally.
“My daughters used to get inspired when they see me wearing professional power suits and traveling across the globe,” reminisced Mahaletchumy.
Another panellist at the forum Dr Jezamine Lim, CEO of Cell Biopeutics Resources said most women leave their careers behind as they are pushed to a critical point to choose between their job and family.
“In my case, I had to bulldoze my way against the familiar odds to keep both my job and family intact. I gave birth to three babies during my PhD journey,” said the now successful scientist cum entrepreneur who is also grateful that her parents supported her by helping to take care of her children.
Lim emerged as the first women doctoral candidate at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia to receive a PhD in stem cells and tissue engineering. Cell Biopeutics Resources is her own startup company.
Radioactive hazard, putting off pregnancy
Professor Datuk Wira Dr Raha Abdul Rahim, who is the Chief Executive Director of the National Institutes of Biotechnology Malaysia (NIBM), said family support is crucial for women to achieve their dreams of becoming successful in the corporate world. This is especially necessary when they undertake postgraduate studies and are also mothers-to-be.
“Coming from a traditional background, my entire family was expecting the arrival of the baby as it will be the eldest grandchild for both sides of the family.”
“This added a lot of pressure for me because I had to delay my pregnancy as I was working with radioactive substances in the lab during that time,” she added.
She affirmed that communication with all sides is key if you are juggling family and career. She communicated her circumstances to her husband and he was her tower of strength during that period.
Single women are not spared
The WIS Scholars shared their own set of challenges too, as single women. Debbie expressed that her challenges came from within her. She compares herself with cousins who are medical and academic doctors.
“We tend to impress people with strength, but we connect people with weakness”, added the scholar.
Nurimanina Najwa binti Shahrin, who is a WIS scholar faced challenges from her mother when she felt it was unsafe for her to drive to the lake at night to do field work. She had to lie to her mother about her field trips. “I had to lie to her that there are other girls with me, when actually I am the only girl”, she said.
Gender stereotype in STEM
Raha narrated her experience when she was interviewed for the position of Vice Chancellor at one of the local technical universities in Malaysia dominated by male engineers. When she was asked how would she manage the male dominated atmosphere and most of them are engineers, her reply was, “I am an engineer too, a genetic engineer who can change any living organisms”.
She creatively and confidently navigated the situation, turned the table around and got the job.
“In the STEM field, we are still bound to the stereotype where women have to hustle very hard to prove their intellectual abilities to secure the top positions.Thus, providing a scholarship is a special allocation for women to embrace equity,” said Mahaletchumy.
Ask Us Anything Session
The panel discussion was followed by a “Ask us Anything” session that provided information about the participating UK universities and the scholarship. It was moderated by Prabha Sundaram, Head of Education, British Council Malaysia and joined by representatives from Newcastle University, Middlesex University London, and University of Strathcylde, virtually to give a glimpse on the campus life in the UK, course structure and the application procedures to the participants.
For more information on the Women in STEM scholarships programme, please visit: https://www.britishcouncil.org/study-work-abroad/in-uk/scholarship-women-stem
