International Day of the Girl Child: Young Women in STEM—A Force for Climate Action

Climate change is an increasingly urgent concern in the Mekong Delta. Under current trends, 40 percent of this vital, transnational ecosystem will be submerged by the year 2100, according to the UNDP, and 55 percent of the regional population will have their lives upended by floods and rising waters. We need women and men of the highest caliber to devise solutions to this looming catastrophe, and so young women must have equal opportunity to hone their talents in historically male-dominated technical fields.

From August 27 to 30, The Asia Foundation conducted its inaugural Emerging Mekong Women Leaders in Climate Action workshop, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to introduce young women majoring in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to careers in climate action and to cultivate a regional network of women in STEM who are committed to climate solutions. This pilot workshop brought together eight female university students and recent graduates from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam to explore climate-focused careers in academia, international development, and the private sector. The program included leadership training, gender training, technical briefings on climate change, and networking and mentoring sessions.

A holistic approach

Climate change does not respect borders—between states or between disciplines—and holistic, region-wide solutions will be required to meet this challenge.

Sessions focused on applying the students’ education in fields like electrical engineering to climate solutions like clean energy systems, connecting them with established female experts in STEM and climate work as mentors and role models, and exploring strategies to overcome the barriers that women commonly face in these male-dominated fields.

The young women expanded their knowledge of the climate change landscape in the Mekong Delta and returned to their schools and communities with new, transferrable leadership skills and a deeper understanding of gender dynamics. Over the course of the workshop, their self-confidence grew. Although they arrived as strangers, they left as friends, an important first step in our program goal of fostering a network of young women climate leaders.

Women and climate change

One story from the workshop stuck with us: the first-hand account of a participant’s own hometown by the Mekong River that was threatened by rising water levels, which inspired her to pursue a science degree and a career in climate action. Because girls and young women in Asia are disproportionately affected by climate change and natural disasters, their ideas and experiences must be part of the search for climate solutions. Yet, when they pursue STEM careers, they still face hurdles tied to their gender, limiting their societies from cultivating the best talent from half the population. STEM fields need more women and girls, not just because greater gender equality results in more prosperous and peaceful societies, but also because diverse perspectives lead to better solutions.

The idea that young women can create a new paradigm for solving complex global challenges is echoed in the United Nation’s “Girls’ Vision for the Future,” the theme for this year’s International Day of the Girl Child on October 11, which declares,

Girls are not only courageous in the face of challenges, but hopeful for the future. Every day, they are taking action to realize a vision of a world in which all girls are protected, respected, and empowered. But girls cannot realize this vision alone. They need allies who listen to and respond to their needs.

For girls and young women in STEM, allies are important. The gender gap in STEM careers in Asia is large, as it is globally, and we know, from decades of nurturing women’s educational and career aspirations, that wraparound support—from networking, mentorships, and career advice to soft skills such as English and study skills—is the most effective way to help them achieve their goals and equip them for the twenty-first century workplace. This holistic approach encourages young women to persist in their careers and eventually to assume leadership positions.

We’ve also learned through these programs that representation matters as much as support: if you see what’s possible, you believe you can do it, too, and if you feel nurtured and safe, you can take risks and realize your fullest potential. Our scholarship programs for young women go beyond basic support for tuition and fees to offer skills development, female mentors and role models, and access to networks of women in STEM. The supportive environment that such networks provide can be life-changing for young women. As the Foundation’s program specialist for education in Vietnam, Dinh Kieu Nhung, observed about the workshop, “Seeing how they step out of their comfort zones and express themselves is very rewarding.”

Our August pilot program is just the start of the Foundation’s commitment to support climate careers for women in STEM. Building on this successful workshop, the Foundation will develop a region-wide education program that links young women in STEM, while continuing to cultivate a network of women climate leaders with strong STEM backgrounds to advance gender-transformative solutions to this urgent issue.

This year’s celebration of the International Day of the Girl Child is a reminder, once again, that the critical issues of our day can only be solved when women’s voices and talents are engaged. With tools and opportunity, they will be a transformative force for addressing the greatest global challenge of our time, climate change.

Anuja Patel is a program officer and Eileen Pennington is a senior gender advisor for The Asia Foundation’s Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality program. They can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected], respectively. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors, not those of The Asia Foundation.