KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — Fewer Malaysian women are graduating from the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) field due to gender stereotyping, according to a news report.

Local daily The Star reported that less than half of engineering and technology graduates in 2015 were women.

The report also quoted Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) Fellow Prof Datuk Dr Halimaton Hamdan who said over time, women have become less interested in STEM degrees due to chauvinism.

“Long-time stereotyping has made women feel like they’re not as valued as their male counterparts.

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“This led to self-doubt. Women are also seen as not good enough, and not suitable, for these roles,” she said.

Halimaton added that modern STEM-based career prospects instead of the “traditional” types like mechanical and electrical engineering should also be promoted to women.

“Software programmers, data scientists, statisticians and systems analysts are also in demand.

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“The right ecosystem to cultivate a STEM workforce is needed. This must start in schools,” she said.

To achieve this, the professor suggested that private and public sectors actively get involved in promoting this effort, including by training teachers in “gender responsive teaching strategies” which promotes equality.

Deputy Education Minister Datuk P. Kamalanathan earlier this month said that only 47 per cent of students opted for the science steam in schools, below the country’s targeted 60:40 ratio of science to arts stream students.

He was also reported claiming that the National STEM Transformation Plan 2017-2025 was expected to be completed soon to address this problem in schools as well as universities.