The Research and Technology Ministry's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) said it continued to promote gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) as its policy perspective to encourage women, especially lecturers and students, to conduct research.
espite having many universities, the number of female researchers in Indonesia is currently still lower than its neighboring countries, according to a ministry official.
Speaking at an online talk show on Saturday, the Research and Technology Ministry's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) acting deputy Muhammad Dimyati said the ministry continued to promote gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) as its policy perspective to encourage women, especially lecturers and students, to conduct research.
As reported by kompas.com, Research and Technology Minister and BRIN head Bambang Brodjonegoro shared at the event that Indonesian women's role in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) was still very low compared to their male counterparts with 32.5 percent.
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Aiming to tackle the issue, an essay competition called Girls in Science was held by ForMIND Institute (ForTI) and supported by the ministry. Targeting undergraduate and diploma students, it required participants to write an essay on topics like why they chose science majors, their opinion regarding the low number of female science students and solutions to increase the number of female researchers in the country.
Out of 290 submissions, Yuriska Nurhastuti, a student at Wijaya Kusuma University in Surabaya, East Java, and Ananda Grace, a student at Tadulako University in Palu, Central Sulawesi, were announced as first-place and second-place winners, respectively.
ForTI is an organization that focuses on research and community developments and high-quality education. It was initiated by ForMIND or Indonesian Young Scientists Forum (IYSF), which consists of inter-disciplinary researchers. (wir/kes)
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