Due to the rapid progress of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the world is already getting ready for the fourth industrial revolution. By 20, about 5% of Southeast Asia employment will become necessary in basic digital skills and ICT skills. However, when the participation of the STEM sector (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in women is deeply viewed, the discrimination is clearly visible. In the engineering and ICT -related profession, women are currently representing women than men. The worldwide STEM sector is captured as the field of men. A similar situation is seen in Bangladesh. Historically girls were rarely sent to school, and science was seen as the subject of boys. As a result, many girls grew up believed that the science-technology sector was not for them. This idea still exists in many cases, especially when it comes to equal participation of women.
According to the IMF data, women have 5% less likely than men in working in the technology sector. On the other hand, women are more likely to work in clerk or service terms are 5% higher than men, where new technology is relatively higher than the job departure. Women's participation in science or technology is the most reduced when entering the workplace. Only 20% of the worldwide engineering graduates are women, among engineering professionals, the number of women is less than 2%. In the European Union, only 5% of ICT experts and one-third STEM are graduated women. In the Asia-Pacific region, the participation of researchers in the science and technology sectors is only 20.5%, where the global average is 25.5%.
Due to this lack of participation and social stereotype, the matter is often explained in such a way that women are less interested or less efficient than men in the science-technology sector. But in reality the matter is very different. Women are not the problem of this low participation today; For centuries, women have been depreciated in this regard. For example, Watson and Creek created the famous DNA model where they used an unpublished X-ray defraction image of DNA molecules found in the research of a female scientist Rosalind Franklin as well as a female scientist Rosalind Franklin. Franklin's contribution was not recognized before his death. In this way, women have been lagging behind in this sector due to social stereotype, discrimination and non -cooperation. Even today, women working in the STEM sector are being discriminatory.
Real Image: Low participation in women's STEM is not their disrespect, but the result of social, cultural and institutional barriers.
According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2021, Bangladesh is ranked 1222 out of 5 countries in terms of educational achievement. Bangladesh is ahead of Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan as a whole in the education of women and girls. Although the number of girls who have completed secondary and higher education in Bangladesh are high, only 5% of the medium is admitted to the science department and only 1.5% of higher education in the engineering and technology department. There is gender discrimination in the STEM sector in Bangladesh, from digital literacy to representation from the profession of science and technology. According to GSM's 222 Mobile Gender Gap report, only 5% of women use mobile internet in Bangladesh, where this rate is 5% among men. According to the Bangladesh Country Gender Assessment of the World Bank, the presence of women among the STEM professionals in 20 is only 5%. Women's participation in the IT sector is also very low; Only 5% of women are in senior positions, 5% of women are owned by IT companies and only 2% of women work as IT entrepreneurs. Below are some of the main reasons for disruption of women in this sector:
Social stereotype and prejudice in primary education: From kindergarten to twelfth grade, girls are often discouraged in STEM subjects. Boys are better than girls in science, this biased idea reduces the confidence of girls, which subsequently creates a negative attitude towards science education and the career of it among them. Not only Bangladesh, this idea exists in many countries in Southeast Asia. Such; According to the STEM-Nist China data:
“Girls sometimes say that a girl at the secondary level will be good at the science of science, but if a boy does bad results in high school, it is seen in the sight, because they are still small, and the high school will be okay.
Discrimination between cities and villages: There is a great deal of discrimination in children's science education in remote areas. In addition to the lack of skilled teachers, infrastructure and resources, the opportunities for advanced courses or STEM related to these schools are very limited. This discrimination and the presence of social problems such as child marriage in remote areas hinder girls' science-technology study and skills.
Fuel for investment of education: After completing their studies in the science-technology sector, women are far behind men in terms of salary, benefits and career development after entering the job. Although men invest equal in education in education, women get relatively low, which discourages them in taking STEM career.
Carrier Related Obstacles: Women are often lagging behind the occupation of the STEM sector under the pressure of gender -based prejudice, high competitive environment in the science and technology sector, lack of adequate work life balance, negative attitudes on the future of women in the science and technology profession. In addition, women in higher education and workplace are subjected to sexual harassment and oppression, which causes obstacles to their career formation in this sector.
Social stereotype and lack of cooperation: One of the important issues in the context of Bangladesh is the lack of proper cooperation for women. For example, due to lack of adequate day care centers and maternity facilities, women often experience problems after entering the workplace, not the science technology sector. In addition, the work of social rearing, housework and family members is still considered only as the work of women. Because of this, women are discouraged from a very young age to enter the workplace like science-technology.
Lack of inclusion in science and technology has a far -reaching impact on the economy and income. According to the UN Women's Gender Snapshot 2022 report, the absence of women's digital cases has caused about $ 1 trillion from the GDP of low and middle income countries in the last decade. However, it is also important that women are currently entering the workplace related STEM and are making significant contributions. Therefore, at present, their low participation is not a reflection of the skills deficit or disobedience. Rather, women are still lagging behind in this sector because of social, cultural and institutional obstacles. In addition to reducing economic inequality and creating efficient, diverse manpower, investment is capable of playing a positive role in incorporating women into STEM. Providing science education for girls and ensuring the Internet access for hand-pen training, arrangements for mentoring and training, and recruitment policies can be changed so that the inclusion of women in STEM is ensured. For example, some countries have set the goal of recruitment and retression to increase women's participation in science and technology. Eliminating social stereotype is also important to increase awareness in all areas. Therefore, it is not myth, but by proper policy change and social awareness, it is possible to move women forward and through this it is possible to move forward in sustainable development.
This is the fourth phase of the Youth Policy Forum and the 'right here, now' the Meethabutter series of the joint effort of the project. Visit to find out more about this project-https://ypfbd.org/pfrhrn/
