Advocacy campaign on "Breaking Barriers for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM): Entering the STEM Workforce: Navigating Challenges and Opportunities, collaboratively organized by the United Nations entity of Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Woman) and the European Union (EU) in Sri Lanka.
Gender gaps are found to be notably high in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields which are perceived very much as ‘masculine’. Consequently, women make up only one fourth of the global workforce majoring in most STEM sectors. Even though nearly 50% of the undergraduates enrolling to follow degree programs in STEM in Sri Lanka are women, there are less women working and leading in the STEM workforce. It is evident that being a patriarchal society, closing this gap in the Sri Lankan context require a significant change in gender stereotypes, roles, norms values and attitudes as a whole.
Aligned with the International Day of Females in Science, the United Nations entity of Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Woman (UN Woman) and the European Union (EU) in Sri Lanka collaboratively organized an advocacy campaign titled "Breaking Barriers for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)" for a selected group of undergraduates from the University of Moratuwa, held on the 27th of February 2023 at the Rubert Pieris building of the Faculty of Architecture. The resource person Dr. Nilanka Wickramasinghe, a lecturer attached to the Department of Physiology , University of Colombo conducted an inspiring interactive session focusing on the ways that families, communities, workplaces and institutions can better gear to support and empower women entering STEM careers to smoothly navigate through their challenges and opportunities. This session was coordinated by Dr. (Mrs.) Anishka Hettiarachchi, the Chief Student Counsellor of the University of Moratuwa.
