Why is female participation lacking in STEM education?

Women in Bangladesh have moved forward in leaps and bounds over the last few years, carving their own identities in every sector. Despite a still patriarchal society, women have made their presence felt and their contributions known.

However, there remains a sector where female participation is still lacking despite having great potential. 

The science and technology sector is still largely dominated by men, with experts suggesting engaging women in STEM education to increase their participation.

In fact, a 2019 study showed that while women or girls expressed their desire to pursue careers in science and technology, a very low percentage actually enrolled in those subjects at the tertiary levels. 

Marking the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11, experts encouraged more girls and women to engage themselves in STEM education to survive in a world of rapid technological innovation.

Lack of digital skills a key barrier

According to the 2019 study, titled ‘Barriers to STEM education for rural girls: A missing link to innovation for a better Bangladesh’, by Nasrin Siddiqa, in Bangladesh around 80%-85% of garments workers are female. Among them 92.5% of them are under the age of 30 and 46% come from rural areas.

The study identified a lack of digital, communication, or mathematical skills as reasons for these women being stuck in the lowest-wage positions.

The study was carried out on 500 rural secondary-level schoolgirls, 100 parents, and 75 teachers from 30 rural schools of the district of Gazipur. It included a survey where the students were asked to rate the level of their confidence on a scale of 1-5.  

Female students attending class in a classroom in Dhaka University | Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune

The survey revealed that girls did have high aspirations and they looked forward to landing good jobs. When responding to questions about future occupations, 274 students said they would like to pursue  careers in medicine or nursing while 111 expressed their wish to become engineers. 

In fact, 60%of the respondents reported having maximum confidence in biology. Mathematics took the second spot, with 35% reporting full confidence and 31% reporting 4. In chemistry 21% reported 5, and 31% reported 4 and in technology 22% reported 5, and 24% reported 4. The respondents reported the lowest confidence in physics where 16% reported 5, and 29% reported 4.

Female participation in STEM subjects drop at university level

The study also showed that at the university level the number of female students enrolling in STEM subjects was significantly lower than that for males, despite girls having a better passing rate in the secondary and higher secondary levels. 

In 2021, the pass rate among girls was 94.5% against 92.69% among boys. The year before, the pass rate was 84.10% against 81.06% for boys. 

In 2019, the SSC pass rate among girls was 83.28% and 81.13% for boys in 2019.

However, despite the continuously superior results, the percentage of girls enrolling in STEM subjects is relatively low. 

In public universities, only 8.06% female students enrolled in science departments, 1.46%, in engineering and technology, 0.16% in medicine and 0.03%, in medicine. 

Meanwhile, 32.46% of female students went for arts and humanities and 28.13% enrolled in social science departments.

According to 2020 data, the physics department of Dhaka University, one of the most sought-after institutions for higher education, admitted 188 female students and 501 male students. As many as 172 women enrolled in the mathematics department against 1,364 male students. The scene was similar in the chemistry department, where 158 new admissions were female and 254 were male.

The percentage is slightly higher in the private universities where 42.97% females enrolled in engineering technology, 3.84% in science, 4.06% pharmacy and 0.70% in biology. 

The number of students enrolling in arts subjects is lower there with 10.33% getting into arts and humanities and 3.69% in social sciences.

Fundamental flaw in university education?

Experts are of the view that one of the reasons for the disparity is due to a fundamental flaw in university-level education in our country.

"Universities in other countries exhibit a variety of workshops and campaigns for students in grades 11 and 12 to give them an idea of what they might plan for their higher education,” says UGC Administrative Officer Md Jahangir Alam.

“But we do not have that kind of practice here, which is why our students are unsure about what they will study," he added. 

The UGC official said that private universities, however, had started adopting this culture to bring in students. 

Responding to queries on why girls are less interested in science, he said: “They are pressured by society to marry once they complete their HSC. As a result, many girls think that picking an easy subject will make it easier for them to continue their education when they get married.”

Photo shows two female students sitting in front of Dhaka University's Arts Building | Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) Senior Vice President Samira Zuberi Himika believes that a lack of examples or role models of women in science is a key factor behind the lack of participation. 

"Deepika Padukone is well-known among students, and she is the role model for many teenage girls. But students, on the other hand, are unaware of the story of a scientist who works for Nasa or Google,” she said. 

Saying that the fundamental problem was  a lack of examples for students, she called on the media to play a role in changing that. 

However, Himika is optimistic that circumstances will be different in the next 5-6 years when the participation of women in the sector will increase.