Directing attention to Southeast Asia: Unique case of gender gap in STEM fields

• In Event: Reforming Higher Education Systems in Southeast Asia: Cooperation, Capacity, and Equity

Proposal

The world has been increasingly dependent on technology. Talents from the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields are central for this advancement. Studies show that technology may perpetuate bias and injustice as a result of the lack of diversity in the teams that develop it (Page, 2007; Buolamwini and Gebru, 2018; Phillips et al., 2011). Studies and interventions are critical to address this pressing issue globally, particularly in closing the gender gap in STEM. This matter is also present in Southeast Asia, a region that requires attention regarding this concern. Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a cooperation between countries in this region, is projected to become a $2 trillion digital economy by 2030 (World Economic Forum, 2025). The individual countries also hold significance. Indonesia is one of the largest emerging economies (OECD, n.d.), and Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia become important technology hubs (Source of Asia, 2024).

Gender gap in STEM within these contexts highlights the need for investigating this issue further. In this paper, I examine literature in the gender inequality in STEM conducted in Southeast Asian countries to understand the progress of research in this area, and explore studies conducted in other regions to provide insights to advance this research further. The literature and statistics illuminate some interesting and unique findings about the region. For instance, based on UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2020), more than half of the graduates in STEM in Myanmar and Brunei are female. Furthermore, Malaysia is one of the very rare cases where computer science field is female-dominated (Cheryan et al., 2025; Mellström, 2009). Studies show this is attributed by the low masculine culture in the field in Malaysia, which is not the case in many other countries (Cheryan et al., 2025). Meanwhile, gender gaps in other STEM fields or other countries in Southeast Asia persist (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2020).

These varying patterns within this region offer opportunities for further investigation. Many existing studies on gender gap in STEM in Southeast Asia focus on country-specific research, particularly those that are conducted within the local context of a school or a university (Koul, Lerdpornkulrat, & Poondej, 2016; Perdana et al., 2021; Nugraha et al., 2020). Some studies analyze cross-national comparisons that includes some of Southeast Asian countries and countries from other regions (Ng, 2020; Salmon et al., 2015; UNESCO, 2020). Meanwhile, the varying patterns within Southeast Asian countries indicates a potential for conducting a focused cross-national comparison study on this region as a whole, since they may have some similarities in culture and education systems. Additionally, ASEAN and Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMO) have a potential to become a vehicle for collaboration on research and interventions in this area. This type of study could benefit from the analysis of large-scale databases, such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), as it provides comprehensive information that are relevant to gender gap in STEM and most Southeast Asian countries are participating in it.

Studies on this topic conducted in other parts of the world provide insights into future potential research on cross-national comparison of gender gap in STEM in Southeast Asia. These include implementing longitudinal studies (Sakellariou & Fang, 2021; Zhao & Perez-Felkner, 2022), involving more macro-level variables that are overlooked in current research such as national characteristics (Liu, Alvarado-Urbina, & Hannum, 2019), examining the populations within different performance levels in STEM subjects (Liu, Alvarado-Urbina, & Hannum, 2019), and investigating varying levels of gender disparity in each of different STEM fields (Cheryan et al., 2017). This paper aims to bring attention to the uniqueness of gender gap issues in STEM in Southeast Asia and promote different approaches for scholarly research to address these issues.

Author

• Sharon Jessica, University at Buffalo