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Groups encourage Indonesian women to break stigma, join STEM
Feb. 11 marks the international day of Women and Girls in Science and has become a reminder of the staggering gender gap in STEM fields in Indonesia and worldwide.
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Indonesia Statistics (BPS) revealed in 2017 that only 30 percent of productive-age women worked in STEM industries. (Shutterstock/File)
I
ndonesia is stepping up its efforts in women empowerment with more communities to help young girls and women embrace science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The groups, which include STEM with Her (Jakarta), Femme in STEM (Bandung, West Java), Jakarta Society of Women Engineers (Jakarta SWE) and West Nusa Tenggara Society of Women Engineers (NTB SWE), are trying to break stigmas and norms that still hamper women’s participation in the fields.
One of the stigmas is that STEM fields are regarded as a male domain requiring physical exertion and working in dirty and dangerous environments. Saskia Amalia Aryono, the founder of STEM with Her, believes that more exposure to female role models could help break the stigma.
“I’m lucky that I have had role models since I was a child because my mother and aunt are engineers. But many people, including family members, are still discouraging girls from choosing STEM because they’re girls. I want young girls to believe the STEM world is also their world,” she said.
Besides showcasing female role models, STEM with Her aims to introduce STEM to teenagers aged 10 to 15 through workshops.
Feb. 11 marks the international day of Women and Girls in Science and has become a reminder of the staggering gender gap in STEM fields in Indonesia and worldwide.
Women’s participation around the world in STEM remains underrepresented. Only two out of 10 women become professionals in STEM areas, while three out of 10 women are STEM researchers, according to UNESCO data in 2018.
