Door still shut for women in selected sectors
Published on: Tuesday, March 05, 2024
By:
Annabelle Lawrence, FMT
Women account for only 27.1% of all engineers in Malaysia and stereotyping has been cited as a major cause of the imbalance. (Freepik pic)
PETALING JAYA: Women face an uphill battle in getting recognition for their role in engineering and tech as well as in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and experts have attributed the phenomenon to stereotyping.
For instance, only 27.1% of all engineers in Malaysia are women. In technology, they represent 35% of the workforce while they make up only 20% of those who manage small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
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Typically, women are considered less competent in fields such as engineering, and this bias has hindered their career progression, according to Noor Alia Mohd Anif, head of marketing at Rosen Asia Pacific, an engineering group.
“If a woman acts assertively at work, some people would think that she is aggressive and unpleasant given that she has defied the traditional view that women are submissive,” she said.
“On the other hand, a man’s assertiveness is perceived as a leadership skill,” she added.
“It is an uphill battle,” Noor Alia told FMT Business.
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But in a society where traditional gender roles often dictate career paths, women in many parts of the world are already challenging the stereotype and breaking barriers in male-dominated industries such as technology and SMEs apart from engineering.
Data from Eurostat, a European Commission database, shows that the developing countries are doing better than their first-world counterparts in striking a gender balance.
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For instance, 48% of engineers in Algeria are women compared with 20% in the US.
In Tunisia, women make up 44% of all engineers while in Morocco, they are at 42%.
In Belgium, women account for 25% of engineers, in Japan they make up 14% of the engineering workforce and in China, they are at a minuscule 5%
Women in tech face similar challenges. They often face biases and discrimination in hiring, promotion and compensation practices, Lennise Ng, CEO and co-founder of e-commerce platform Borong, said.
“This is usually very subtle. They can be overlooked for opportunities (for progression or promotion) or they can be subjected to micro-aggression in the workplace,” she told FMT Business.
Ng said flexible work arrangements and supportive policies are also often lacking in many tech companies and SMEs, making it difficult for women who often also have greater responsibilities on the home front.
Counselling psychologist Gerard J Louis of HELP University said several factors have contributed to the lack of women in specific fields.
“It is a combination of a lack of exposure, cultural elements and the stereotypical view that engineering is primarily for men,” he told FMT Business.
Louis said the perception of gender-based pay disparity is also a factor that has discouraged women from entering these fields.
Addressing the challenges women face in a male-dominated society can be difficult.
Noor Alia said supportive policies that promote gender diversity are necessary but one of the biggest challenges is to put them in place.
To address these challenges, she said, more work must be done.
“Business managers, lawmakers and educational institutions must foster more welcoming and encouraging work conditions for women,” she said.
Ng said steps must also be taken to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education among girls.
“This will close the digital skills gap, create supportive work environments and raise awareness,” she added.
Louis stressed the importance of ensuring equal opportunity for promotion and pay rise for both men and women.
“Addressing these disparities will have a positive influence on a woman’s decision on choosing a career.
“It will lead to a more diverse and inclusive workforce in otherwise male-dominated industries,” he added.
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