-

1. Empowerment of
Women through STEM
Education in Malaysia
Presented by Sharala Axryd,
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of
The Center of Applied Data Science

2. Girls need STEM and STEM needs Girls
Interest in
exploring &
doing
experiments
Career
guidance
Inspiring
Teachers
Role
Models
Peer
influence
Why Girls choose STEM?Source: Ministry of Education
(CDD 2015b)

3. Never Too
Young to
Learn
• Did you know that research has shown that science
achievement gaps emerge by kindergarten, and these
gaps continue until at least the end of eighth grade?
• In a recent study, girls start doubting their own
intelligence at age 6.
• What’s alarming is that even where there is no
difference in STEM ability, a large divide in ‘perceived
competence’ for girls can start as early as age five.
• Digital skills are increasingly vital in everyone’s lives.
It’s estimated around 90% of all jobs over the next few
years will require digital skills, so we need to make
sure they’re at the heart of our education system.
• Learnability and a growth mindset must be
established early to acquire developed skillsets and
meaningful learning experiences for both boys and
girls.

4. ARTS
SCIENCE
“In a new curriculum we will
implement, we will not only
emphasise Science but also Arts
(and culture) because knowledge
is one; it cannot be
compartmentalized and should be
integrated instead.”
- Education Minister Dr Maszlee
Malik

7. Women represent the largest disruptive force in business — and
the business world is unprepared
Women control
85% of
consumer
spending
globally.
Globally, women
control USD$36
trillion in total
wealth.
According to the McKinsey Global
Institute, if women played an identical
role to that of men in the labour
economy, it would add up to USD$28
trillion to global annual GDP;
same as the combined GDP of the
Women empowerment
could potentially unlock
an additional income
per capita of
approximately
RM9,040 for Malaysia;
which will easily enable
an overnight
achievement of a high-
income nation.
Women make 70% of
major financial
decisions for
themselves and their
families, everything
from auto, insurance,
home and investment.

8. When Women Are Left
Out Of The Decision-
Making Process
The average women
struggles to open doors
when going in and out of
buildings — because most
doors are designed for the
tensile strength of an
average man
Long lines for women’s
restrooms reflect poor
design; women do up to 5
things in a restroom, and
men do one
When airbags were first released,
hundreds of women and children
were injured or killed when the
bags deployed. The reason? The
group of male engineers who
designed them were all over 250
lbs and didn’t think to test for
women
Naming a flagship product
“iPad” when half of your
consumers are women who
associate that with hygiene
Early speech recognition
software struggled to
recognise women’s voices
Of the top health trackers
(Apple, Fitbit, Nike) — not one
had a period tracker at release,
even though half of the target
customer base tracks periods as
part of their normal health
routine, and health trackers are

9. Women
Need
Mentors
Girls Need
Role
Models

10. Only 35% of STEM students in higher education
globally are women, and differences are observed
within STEM disciplines. Malaysia has 48.6%
In Malaysia, more than 64% of
university enrolments are female
– a number which has increased
consistently for years.
Total population Malaysia = 32.25m
Female – 48.4%
Male – 51.6%
60% or 2.6 million Malaysian
women who stay out of the
workforce choose to do so
due to housework.
In Asia Pacific, the STEM field is dominated by males (75%) in comparison to
females (25%). It is also male-focused, but marginally better with 71% men.
As of 2015, women made up less than half of the graduates in Malaysia in
engineering and technology fields.
In 2018, science and technical graduates have the highest unemployment rate
among all other graduates in the country at 20.7%.

13. A 1962 textbook used in American schools - 'not a lot has
changed,' education experts say
Gender-stereotyped games and aspirations
in readers from Kazakhstan (left) andTurkey
Malaysia Standard 3TextbookTeaching Girls
How to “Protect Modesty of Private Parts”
We can’t teach girls
of the future with
books of the past

14. Teach the value of Failure

15. Listen to what
girls say about
their
and desires
Encourage early
connections to role
models and mentors,
especially via social
media, television, and
Emphasize
the
creativity
and real-
world
application
of STEM
careers
Regularly and
routinely encourage
competence in STEM,
especially in
computer science
Serve as a positive
champion and
supporter, focusing on
what girls need and
acting on their requests
Here are five small ways to provide the encouragement critical to engaging girls in
STEM

16. Support a Generation of
Scientific Young Women
 Provide absolute positivity about women in
the STEM fields and about the scientific
capabilities of women in general.
 Purchase toys and games for girls that
encourage problem solving and
innovation.
 Encourage group activities and
competition among girls that are related to
the scientific field.
 Incorporate successful female STEM role
models in the lives and education of young
women.
 If you are a woman working in one of the
STEM fields, share your story.
 Drive the conversation about girls and
women in the STEM fields.

17. “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and
write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
— Alvin Toffler, American Writer, Futurist, Businessman

18. Connect With Us
The Center of Applied Data Science
info@thecads.com
The Center of Applied Data Science