By Masjaliza Hamzah and Maria Chin Abdullah
Asia remains relatively disadvantaged in gender equality in education. However, women’s participation in STEM tells a different, more complex story, marked by both progress and persistent challenges.
In Brunei Darussalam, nearly half of STEM graduates are women, and women outnumber men at the postgraduate level by wide margins. In Malaysia, women account for 54 per cent of STEM graduates, exceeding the global average. The story is similar in India, where girls account for 43 per cent of enrolment in graduate-level STEM programmes, compared with a global average of 35 per cent.
This is undoubtedly a success story, but it also carries a warning. Across Asia, a striking paradox is unfolding: more women are entering STEM education, but far fewer are remaining in or advancing through STEM careers.
Recent research in Brunei Darussalam, India, and Malaysia, supported by the Commonwealth of Learning, points to an uncomfortable truth: getting girls into classrooms and lecture halls has proven far easier than retaining women and enabling them to advance in STEM careers. Brunei’s report describes this as a “leaky pipeline,” while Malaysia’s research characterises it as “pipeline success but systems failure.” In India, the leak begins earlier, as girls may be discouraged from pursuing STEM before they reach higher education.
Within this context, women continue to cluster in the life sciences, including health, biology, and agriculture, while remaining underrepresented in engineering, computing and the physical sciences — the very disciplines driving digital transformation and green economic growth.
Regional data show that this is not simply a pattern in three countries. Women account for less than 40 per cent of the STEM workforce in 12 of the 20 Asia-Pacific countries with available data and comprise only 23.9 per cent of the region’s total researchers.
Gendered divides in the workplace, care responsibilities, and deeply embedded stereotypes present compounding challenges. Stereotypes about girls’ aptitude for technical, hands-on, or logical work persist, even when evidence suggests otherwise. Caregiving expectations also push many women out of the workforce during critical stages of their careers, a challenge that is exacerbated by inadequate childcare support and inflexible workplace structures. Male-dominated recruitment practices and workplace cultures often continue to treat women as exceptions rather than equals.
These barriers extend well beyond STEM. Across Asia-Pacific, only 44 per cent of working-age women participate in the labour force, compared with 74 per cent of men, with unpaid care responsibilities accounting for much of the gap. Women also hold only 6 per cent of corporate board seats across the region and remain underrepresented in national legislatures and other decision-making bodies.
The lesson for policymakers is clear: expanding access to education is necessary, but it is no longer enough. Closing Asia’s STEM gender gap requires sustained attention to what happens during education and after graduation. This includes mentorship throughout study and into employment, gender-responsive teaching in classrooms and laboratories, and institutional practices that support women’s participation and advancement.
These efforts must begin early and continue throughout women’s education and careers. Mentorship, visible female role models in TVET, engineering, and computing, and timely career guidance can help challenge stereotypes before they narrow girls’ aspirations. At the same time, organisations must move beyond statements of support and be held accountable for measurable gender equality outcomes.
Governments and employers also have a critical role to play by putting practical measures in place, including flexible working arrangements, affordable childcare, transparent promotion criteria, and stronger pathways into leadership.
As the fields shaping future innovation, productivity, and economic competitiveness, STEM cannot afford to lose half of the region’s talent. Neither can Asia.
Yet framing this solely as a STEM problem misses the bigger picture. The barriers that drive women out of STEM are often the same barriers that limit their participation and advancement across the economy, politics, and leadership more broadly. STEM simply exposes these inequalities more clearly, and at a greater cost.
Masjaliza Hamzah is a former industrial engineering graduate who pivoted to journalism and human rights advocacy. She also conducts research, manages projects, and volunteers for a few non-profit organisations in Malaysia.
Maria Chin Abdullah, a former Member of Parliament in Malaysia, is a social worker and prominent human and women’s rights activist who is actively engaged in research and training on related issues.
This story was originally published in the August 2026 issue of Connections. Read the full magazine: https://doi.org/10.56059/11599/6148
