縮小東南亞科技行業(yè)的性別差距+Closing+Techs+Gender+Gap+in+Southeast+Asia

ClosingTech’sGenderGapinSoutheastAsia

May2024

ByVaishaliRastogi,MichaelMeyer,AnantShivraj,

SengChiyGoh,DaphneLee,andRachelLee

AI-generatedimage

BostonConsultingGrouppartnerswithleadersinbusinessandsocietytotackletheirmost

importantchallengesandcapturetheirgreatestopportunities.BCGwasthepioneerinbusinessstrategywhenitwasfoundedin1963.Today,

weworkcloselywithclientstoembracea

transformationalapproachaimedatbenefitingallstakeholders—empoweringorganizationstogrow,buildsustainablecompetitiveadvantage,and

drivepositivesocietalimpact.

Ourdiverse,globalteamsbringdeepindustryandfunctionalexpertiseandarangeofperspectives

thatquestionthestatusquoandsparkchange.

BCGdeliverssolutionsthroughleading-edge

managementconsulting,technologyanddesign,andcorporateanddigitalventures.Weworkinauniquelycollaborativemodelacrossthefirmandthroughoutalllevelsoftheclientorganization,

fueledbythegoalofhelpingourclientsthriveandenablingthemtomaketheworldabetterplace.

TheInfocommMediaDevelopmentAuthority

(IMDA)leadsSingapore’sdigitaltransformationbydevelopingavibrantdigitaleconomyand

aninclusivedigitalsociety.AsArchitectsof

Singapore’sDigitalFuture,wefostergrowthin

InfocommTechnologyandMediasectorsin

concertwithprogressiveregulations,harnessingfrontiertechnologies,anddevelopinglocaltalentanddigitalinfrastructureecosystemstoestablishSingaporeasadigitalmetropolis.

Formorenewsandinformation,visit

.sg

orfollowIMDAon

LinkedIn(

IMDAsg

)andInstagram(

@imdasg

).

AninitiativebytheInfocommMedia

DevelopmentAuthorityinpartnershipwiththe

techindustryandcommunity,SGWomeninTech(SGWIT)aimstoattractanddevelopgirlsand

womenfortheexcitinganddynamicinfocommtechsectorinSingapore.SGWITbelievesinthevalueofadiverseworkforce,theimportanceofrolemodelsforinspiringinterestintech,and

partnershipsforasupportiveecosystemfor

womenintech.Formoreinformation,visit

www.sgwomenintech.sg

ThisreportgrewoutofBostonConsultingGroup’sdiscussionswithSingapore’sIMDAandSGWITonunderstandingthelevelofwomen’srepresentationintechnologyinSingaporeandacrossSoutheastAsia.

Contents

Thecurrentstateofwomenintech

inSoutheastAsia—amixedpicture

Fourmomentsoftruthshaping

awoman’scareerintechnology

01Choosingtostudytechnology

02Embarkingonatechnicalcareer

03Stayinginatechnicalrole

04Advancingtoseniorleadership

Acalltoaction—bridgingthe

techgendergapinSoutheastAsia

Executivesummary

TechnologyistransformingeconomiesandsocietiesthroughoutSoutheastAsia,butthetechsector’s

genderimbalancepersists.

Tounderstandthisdisparity—andidentifypotential

solutions—BCGpartneredwithSingapore’sInfocomm

MediaDevelopmentAuthoritytoconductacomprehensivesurveyofabout4,000individualsacrosssixSoutheast

Asiancountries:Indonesia,Malaysia,thePhilippines,

Singapore,Thailand,andVietnam.Wealsointerviewedmorethan30womenintechacrosstheregion.(Thisisafollow-uptoa2020reportwepublishedonthe

gender

disparityintechintheregion

.)

Ouranalysisfindsthatthecurrentstateofgender

diversityintechnologyacrossSoutheastAsiaismixed:

?Theshareofwomenintechnologyacrossthesixcountriesrangesfrom34%to40%—withinafewpercentagepointsofour2020results—reflectingmoderateprogress.

?Companiesaretakinggreaterstridestosupportwomenintech;70%ofrespondentsintechcompaniessaid

thattheircompanyhasinitiativestoimprovethe

recruitment,retention,andadvancementofwomen—anincreaseofroughly20percentagepointsoverour2020survey(49%).

?Jobsatisfactionlevelsamongwomenwhocurrently

workinthesectorareextremelyhigh—83%—onpar

withthatofmenwhoaretheircounterpartsintechandhigherthantheaverageforwomeninotherindustries.

?SoutheastAsiahasthehighestproportionofwomen

pursuingtech-relateddegrees,buttheshareofwomeninthetechsectorisonlyonparwithglobalaverages.

AcrossSoutheastAsia...

34–40%

ofemployeesinthetechsector

arewomen

3in4

womenviewthetechsectorasmoreattractivethan5yearsago

48%

ofgraduateswithtech-relateddegreesarewomen,significantlyhigherthan

theglobalaverage(37%)

<30%

ofjobapplicantsfortechnical

rolesarewomen

23%

ofseniorleadersinthetoptechnologycompaniesarewomen

9%

ofCEOs,CTOs,andfoundersinthetoptechnologycompaniesarewomen

2CLOSINGTECH’SGENDERGAPINSOUTHEASTASIA

Fourmomentsoftruth

Ourresearchidentifiesunderlyingissuesacrossfour

keymomentsoftruthinawoman’stechnologycareer,includinginbothtechnicalroles—particularlythose

requiringdeepexpertise(suchassoftwareengineer)—andleadershippositions.

Choosingtostudytechnology

Thedecisiontopursueatechnologydegreesets

thestageforafuturecareerinthetechindustry.

Ourdatarevealsawidevarianceacrosscountries

intheproportionofwomenenrolledintech-relatedcourses,from36%inthePhilippinesto58%in

Malaysia.Oursurveyfindsthatearlyexposure

totechnologyisimportantatthiskeymoment:GenZwomenwhowereexposedtotechnologybeforetheiruniversityenrollmentare27%morelikelytopursueatech-relateddegree.

Embarkingonatechnicalcareer

Atthiscriticaljuncture,anoticeablegapexists:

womenconstitutelessthan30%oftheapplicantsforentry-andexecutive-leveltechnicalpositionsacrossthesixSoutheastAsiancountries.

Furthermore,lessthanhalfofwomengraduates

withtech-relateddegrees—anaturalpooloftalentfortechnicalroles—choosetoentersuchroles.

Oursurveyrevealsthatprevailingperceptionsof

technicalroles,suchasbeingdominatedbymen

andlackingwork-lifebalance,aredeterringwomen.Moreover,manywomentendtoloseinterestin

technologywhilepursuingahighereducation.

Stayinginatechnicalrole

Nearlyhalfofwomenrespondentswhoarecurrentlyinatechnicalroleareconsideringshiftingtoa

non-technicalrole.AcrossthesixSoutheastAsian

countries,theprimaryfactorforthischangeissalary,butmanywomenalsoreportedfeelingstifledbythelackofaclearcareerpathandaworkplaceculture

thatseemsindifferenttotheuniquechallengestheyface.Forinstance,32%ofwomenintechnicalrolesfeelthattheirday-to-dayworkexperienceisnot

freeofbias.

Advancingtoseniorleadership

Thefourthandfinalmomentoftruthisadvancing

toapositionofseniorleadership.IntheseSoutheastAsiancountries,womenaccountforonly23%of

seniorleadersinthetop50techcompanies,with

just8%intechnicalleadershiproles.Atthisjuncture,there’saperceptionofsubjectiveperformance

evaluations,with30%ofwomenintechnicalrolesfeelingthatcareer-relateddecisions,suchas

promotionsandstretchassignments,arenotfreeofbias.However,havingmentorsandrolemodelscanhelpbridgethisgap:womenintechnicalrolesare

twiceaslikelytobepromotedfasterthantheirpeersiftheyhaveawomanmentor.

Recommendationsforvariousstakeholders

Manyentities—includingindustryassociationsand

governments—alreadysupportwomenwithsomebaselineinitiatives,includingrecruiting,mentoring,networking,andoutreachprogramstoboostretention.Whilethoseare

valuableandshouldcontinue,wefeelthattheadditionalstepsbelowshouldbepriorities.

?Schoolsandgovernmentscancultivateandsustainaninterestintechnologyamonggirlsandyoung

womenbyweavingtechnologyintoallfacetsofthecurriculum,partneringwithtechnologycompanies,andengagingparentsonthejourney.Theseentities

canalsosupportwomenwhoarekeentomakemidcareertransitionsintotechnicalrolesby

offeringupskillingprograms.

?Companiescansupportwomenwhoareembarkingontechnologycareersbycreatingawarenessof

discriminationandbiasintheworkplaceandby

deployingtargetedmeasurestomitigateprejudices.Companiescanalsodesignincentivesforleaders

that,inturn,helpmentakeonmoredomestic

responsibilities,supportwomenre-enteringthe

workforceafterabreak,andredesigncareerpathsfortechnicalroles.

?Seniorleadersintechcanmodelinclusivepractices,guideotherstoadoptinclusivepractices,andengage

inactivementorshipandsponsorship.

?Aspiringgirlsandyoungwomenwhowantto

pursueacareerintech,andwomenwhoareintech,canproactivelyreachouttomentorsandadvisors,

continuallybuildtheirtechnicalskillset,andbeboldabouttakingchancesandpursuingopportunities.

Inparallel,theycanalsoactivelysharetheir

perspectivesandexperiencesnotonlytohighlightissuesandfosterinclusivitybutalsotobecome

rolemodelsforthenextgeneration.

3CLOSINGTECH’SGENDERGAPINSOUTHEASTASIA

“Womenbringdiverseperspectivesandcompetenciesthatdrive

performanceandinnovation.Toempowerthemtoexcelandrealize

theirfullpotential,wehavetomovebeyondjustrepresentation.

Wemustfocusoncreatinganinclusiveenvironmentwheretheir

uniqueperspectivesandcapabilitiesareappreciatedand

fullyleveraged.”

TanLeeChew

ChiefCommercialOfficer,STEngineeringand

President,WomeninTechChapterattheSingaporeComputerSociety

AI-generatedimage

4CLOSINGTECH’SGENDERGAPINSOUTHEASTASIA

Introduction

TechnologicalchangeisperhapsthemostpowerfulforceshapingSoutheastAsia’seconomiesandsocieties.

Astechnologygrowsinimportanceandcomplexity,

increasingtherepresentationofwomenintechbecomescritical—innotjustthetechnologysector,butalsoothersectorsaffectedbytechnology.

Addressingthegenderdisparityintechbenefitsallof

SoutheastAsia.Ittapsintoanunder-leveragedtalentpooltomeettherisingdemandforhigh-qualitytechnicaland

problem-solvingskills.Italsodiversifiesperspectivesto

shapehowtechnologyisdevelopedandusedinourregion.Suchdiversity

fostersbetterinnovation

andreducesblindspotsaswegrapplewithtechnology’scompleximpactonoursharedfuture,includingonfundamentalissuesof

equity,accountability,andinclusivity.

DespitetheimportanceofgenderdisparityintechwithinSoutheastAsia,thereisalackofresearchonthetopic.

Toclosethatgap,BCGpartneredwithSingapore’s

InfocommMediaDevelopmentAuthority(IMDA)to

analyzetheissuescontributingtothegenderdisparityintechandofferrecommendationstoaddressthem.Our

firstjointstudyin2020

providedinitialinsightsintothestateofgenderdisparityinSoutheastAsia’stechsector.

Thisyear,weexpandedthescopeofourresearchtoincludeacomprehensivesurveyofaround4,000individuals,bothmenandwomen,acrossthetech

andnon-techsectorsandrolesinsixSoutheastAsian

countries:Indonesia,Malaysia,thePhilippines,Singapore,Thailand,andVietnam.Wealsointerviewedmorethan30womenintechacrosstheregion.Thefindingshelpidentifytheunderlyingcausesofgenderdisparityintechwithin

SoutheastAsia—bothwithintechsectorsaswellas

intechnicalfunctionsinnon-techsectors—andoffer

recommendationstocreateamoreinclusive

techlandscape.

Withtherapidadvancementsintechnology,suchas

inGenerativeAI,weareatapointwherewehave

tomakefundamentaldecisionsaroundhowthese

technologiescanandshouldbeused.Itiscriticalthatwomenareactivelyinvolvedinthesediscussionsto

ensurediversityofperspectives,sothatweachievethebestoutcomeforsociety.

ChookYuhYng

ChiefGrowthOfficer,MarketplaceTalent,SEEK

~650

respondentspercountry

spanningIndonesia,Malaysia,thePhilippines,Singapore,

Thailand,andVietnam

~2,300

respondentsfrom

thetechsector

e.g.,telecommunications,hyperscalers,e-commerce,fintech,andtechhardware

~2,200

respondentsfrom

technicalroles

suchassoftwaredevelopers,datascientists,and

UI/UXdesigners

4,000

totalrespondents

Acomprehensivesurvey

5CLOSINGTECH’SGENDERGAPINSOUTHEASTASIA

AI-generatedimage

Thecurrentstateofwomenintech

inSoutheastAsia—amixedpicture

ThedigitaleconomyinSoutheastAsiaisprojectedtogrowfromapproximately$300billiontodaytonearly$1

T

hetechsector’sprospectsintheregionareextremelypromising,evenamidthecurrent“techwinter.”

trillionby2030.StrategicinitiativessuchastheASEANDigitalEconomyFrameworkAgreementarepoisedtoamplifythisgrowth.

Thetechsector’sexpansionoutpacesthatofthebroadereconomy,providingsubstantialopportunitiesforsocial

mobilityandcareeradvancement.That’strueinalleconomies,buttechnologyisgrowingevenfasterin

developingcountriessuchasIndonesiaandthe

Philippines.Indonesia’sICTmarket,valuedat$37billionin2022,isexpectedtogrowatacompoundannualgrowthrate(CAGR)ofroughly17%,reaching$80billionby2027.Singapore’sdigitaleconomyisgrowingnearlyasfast.

From2017to2022,ithadaCAGRof12.9%,significantlyoutpacingSingapore’soveralleconomicgrowthrateof2.6%.

Divingintothetechworldhasbeenoneofmymost

fulfillingdecisions.Theconstantevolutionandits

profoundimpactgloballyareexhilarating.Thepotential

forgrowthandinnovationinareaslikeAIandblockchainistrulyremarkable.

AnnieAnDongmei

SeniorSolutionsArchitect,AmazonWebServices

Yetthetechworkforceintheregionisstillpredominantlymale.Acrossthesixcountriesinouranalysis,theshareofwomenintechnologyrangesfrom34%to40%.That

reflectsonlymoderateprogress—withinafewpercentagepointsofour2020results.Moreover,thatsharecontinues

totrailtherepresentationofwomenintheoverallworkforce(Exhibit1).

6CLOSINGTECH’SGENDERGAPINSOUTHEASTASIA

%ofwomeninthetechsector1

Exhibit1-Women'srepresentationintechremainssimilarto2020,stilllaggingbehindothersectors

SingaporeThailandVietnamIndonesiaMalaysiaPhilippines

39%

37%

40%40%

35%35%34%34%34%34%34%35%

47%

47%

45%

46%

43%44%

37%

36%

39%39%39%39%

%ofwomen

acrossallsectors

202020222020202220202022202020222019202220202022

1.EmployedintheInformationandCommunicationssector

Sources:InternationalLaborOrganization;IndonesiaNationalLaborForceSurveyBookletFebruary2023;MalaysiaLaborForceReport2022;SingaporeDepartmentofStatistics

Exhibit2-Techcompanieshavemadegreatere?ortstosupportwomenatwork

SingaporeThailandVietnamIndonesiaMalaysiaPhilippines

76%

76%

74%

76%

65%

60%

63%

55%

56%

41%

%ofcompanies

26%

inthetechsector31%

withinitiativesto

supportwomen

202020232020202320202023202020232020202320202023

Source:BCG-IMDAWomeninTechSEASurvey

7CLOSINGTECH’SGENDERGAPINSOUTHEASTASIA

Technologycompaniesaremakingconcertedeffortsto

increasefemalerepresentation.Amongrespondentsinthetechsector,70%saythattheircompanieshaveinitiativesinplacetoimprovetherecruitment,retention,and

advancementofwomen—asignificantincreaseoverour

2020survey(49%).InThailand,thenumberofrespondentsreportingsuchinitiativesmorethandoubled(Exhibit2).

Anotherpositivesign:womenhaveastrongaffinityforthe

techsector.Threeinfourwomennowviewitasmoreappealingthanitwasfiveyearsago.Moreover,job

satisfactionlevelsamongwomenwhocurrentlyworkinthesectorarehigh—83%—onparwiththatoftheirmalecounterpartsintechandhigherthantheaverageforwomeninotherindustries.

IjoinedthetechindustryasIwasinspiredbythe

potentialofimmersivetechnology.Nineyearslater,

andIamstillexcitedbytheopportunitiesthatitbrings.Ilookforwardtothedaywhereimmersivetechnology

willimpactourdailylives.

BellBeh

Co-founderandChiefExecutiveOfficer,BuzzAR

Onaregionallevel,SoutheastAsialeadstheworldintheshareofwomenreceivingtech-relateddegrees.However,thatisnottranslatingtoahighershareofwomeninthetechsector,wheretheregionisroughlyonparwiththe

globalaverage(Exhibit3).

Exhibit3-SEAhasthehighestproportionofwomenintech-relateddegrees,yetfemalerepresentationinitstechsectorisonparwithglobalaverages

Global

SoutheastAsia

NortheastAsia

North

America

South

America

OceaniaEuropeAfrica

48%

39%

38%

37%

33%

32%

34%

29%

%ofwomenin

tech-related

degrees

44%

37%

35%

33%

32%32%

32%

25%

%ofwomenin

thetechsector

Note:2022orlatestavailableyear

Sources:ChinaMinistryofScienceandTechnology;IndonesiaLaborForceSurvey;IndonesiaMinistryofEducation,Culture,Researchand

Technology;InternationalLaborOrganization;KoreanEducationalServices;MalaysiaLaborForceSurvey;NigeriaBureauofStatistics;OECD;PhilippinesStatisticsAuthority;SingaporeDepartmentofStatistics;UNESCO;WorldBank;WomeninTechSouthAfrica

8CLOSINGTECH’SGENDERGAPINSOUTHEASTASIA

Significantdisparityintechnicalandleadershiproles

Adeeperlookatgenderrepresentationacrossdifferentrolesrevealschallengesintwoareas.

Technicalroles.First,womenareheavily

underrepresentedintechnicalroles,notjustinthoserequiringdeepexpertise(suchassoftwareengineersanddatascientists),butalsoinroleswithlower

technicalrequirements(suchasdataanalystsandproductmanagers).

Thoughthereisstillroomforimprovement,the

representationofwomeninthetechsectorisgrowing,especiallyinfunctionssuchasmarketingandhumanresources.However,intechnicalroles,thegender

disparitycontinuestobesignificant.

TanahSullivan

HeadofSustainability,GoTo

DatasharedbySEEK,atechnologycompanythatoperatesAsia’sleadingonlineemploymentmarketplacesJobstreetandJobsdb,showsthatwomenmakeuplessthanathirdofapplicantsfortechnicalrolesacrossallsenioritylevels.

Thisissignificantlylowerthantheshareofwomen

applicantsfornon-technicalroles,suchasthoseinhumanresources,finance,andgeneraladministration(Exhibit4).

Tobeclear,thegenderimbalanceintechrolesisaglobalchallenge.Diversityreportsfromcompaniessuchas

GoogleandApplerevealthatwomenfillonly20%to30%oftechnicalrolesbothworldwideandinAsia-Pacific,

comparedwitharound50%ofnon-technicalroles.

Withintheregion,however,ouranalysispointstoseveral

underlyingfactors.Womenarelesslikelythanmentostudytech-relatedsubjectsinuniversity,andamongGenZ1womenwhochosetodoso,lessthanhalf

(43%)joinedorareplanningtojointechnicalrolesaftergraduation.

Anotherfactoristhehigherlevelsofdissatisfactionandattritionamongwomenwhocurrentlyholdtechroles.

Whiletheoveralltechsectorremainsattractive,only

27%ofwomenintechnicalrolesreportfeelingvery

satisfiedwiththeirjobs,comparedwith36%ofwomen

innon-technicalrolesand36%ofmenintechnicalroles.

Abouthalfofthewomenintechnicalrolesareconsideringmovingtonon-technicalrolesintheirnextcareerstep.

Leadership.Thesecondareawherewomenarehighly

underrepresentedinSoutheastAsia’stechsectoris

leadership.Acrosstheregion,only23%ofseniorleaders

inthetop50techcompaniesarewomen.Whenitcomestotechnicalleadership,thepictureisstark,aswomenholdjust8%ofsuchrolesinSoutheastAsia.

Thisissuestartsatlowerlevelsofthepipeline,witha

notabledrop-offinfemaleapplicantsformoreseniorroles.Thisproblemcanbeself-perpetuating.Ascarcityoffemalerolemodelsmaymakewomenquestiontheirabilityto

ascendtothesepositionsandsimplynotapply,despitehavingambitionsthatmatchorsurpassthoseoftheirmalecounterparts.

Anotherfactoristhesector’srelianceontechnical

experienceasapathwaytoseniorroles.Unlikeother

industries,CEOsandtopleadersintechcompaniesoftenemergefromtechnicalroles—halfofthefoundersand

CEOsofthetopunicornsinSoutheastAsiahavetechnical

backgrounds—whichfurtherunderscorestheneedforgreatersupportandopportunitiesforwomenin

technicalrolestoascendtoleadershippositions.

Weneedmorewomenintechnicalrolesnow.CEOs

inthetechsectorrarelycomefromnon-technical

backgrounds.Thepipelineofwomenenteringtechnicalrolestodaywillthereforeshapethecompositionof

seniormanagementteamsadecadeormoredowntheroad.

MayaHari

ChiefExecutiveOfficer,Terrascope

Increasingfemalerepresentationinleadershiphas

majorbenefitsfortechnologicalinnovationandcompanyperformance.BCGresearchhasshownthatcompanies

withmorediverseleadershipteamsreport19%morerevenuefromnewproductsandservicescompared

withthosewithlessdiversityinleadership.

Giventheimportanceandpervasivenessoftechnology,

thegenderdisparityintechleadershipmeansthatwomenhavefarfewerseatsatthetableinmakingsomeofthe

mostconsequentialdiscussionsthatwillaffectsocietyandshapeourfuture.

1.GenZsdefinedasthoseyoungerthan28yearsold.

9CLOSINGTECH’SGENDERGAPINSOUTHEASTASIA

Managers

Education

Exhibit4-Femalerepresentationfallsateachstageofthepipeline

%ofwomenbytypeofuniversitydegree

%ofwomenapplicantsateach

levelofsenioritybytypeofrole

Entry&executivelevel

62%

58%

54%

33%

Malaysia

27%

14%

55%

54%

42%

22%

Indonesia

12%

7%

57%

54%

55%

42%

34%

Thailand

23%

49%

50%

38%

36%

25%

Singapore

17%

58%

58%

41%

36%

24%

21%

Philippines

61%

DataunavailableasSEEKdoesnotoperateinVietnam

37%

Vietnam

Pursuingorappliedfor:

Non-tech-relateddegreeornon-technicalroles

Tech-relateddegreeor

technicalroles

Sources:IndonesiaMinistryofEducation,Culture,ResearchandTechnology;MalaysiaMinistryofHigherEducation;PhilippinesStatisticsAuthority;SEEK;SingaporeMinistryofEducation;UNESCO;WorldBank

10CLOSINGTECH’SGENDERGAPINSOUTHEASTASIA

Fourmomentsoftruthshaping

awoman’scareerintechnology

O

ur2020reporthighlightedthreemomentsof

truthforawoman’scareertrajectoryintechnology:1)choosingtostudytechnology;2)enteringtechas

afirstjob;and3)decidingtostaywithatechcareer.Inthatreport,wefocusedonwomenbothinthetechsectorandintechnicalrolesoutsidethetechsector.

Thisyear,welookatthesamethreemoments,butwithafocusonwomenintechnicalroles,astheserolesshow

muchhigherlevelsofgenderdisparityandaregrowinginimportance.Wealsoaddedafourthmomentof

truth:advancinginatechnicalroleandenteringseniorleadership.

Byunderstandingandaddressingtheuniquechallengesateachstage,wecancreateamoreinclusiveandsupportiveenvironmentthatenableswomentonotonlyenterbut

alsosucceedandleadintechnicalroles,bothinsideandoutsidethetechsector.

Thefourmomentsoftruth:

Choosingtostudytechnology

Embarkingonatechnicalcareer

Stayinginatechnicalrole

Advancingtoseniorleadership

11CLOSINGTECH’SGENDERGAPINSOUTHEASTASIA

12CLOSINGTECH’SGENDERGAPINSOUTHEASTASIA

“Educationintechnologyiscrucialforshapingthefuture.By

fosteringacultureofinnovationinbothboysandgirlsfromayoungage,welaythegroundworkforamoreinclusiveandprogressive

society.Thisapproachalsofacilitatesincreasedrepresentationofwomenintechnology,whilemenserveasalliesinensuringequalopportunitiesforcollaboration.”

Pei-SiLai

ChiefExecutiveOfficer,GXBank

AI-generatedimage12CLOSINGTECH’SGENDERGAPINSOUTHEASTASIA

Momentoftruth1

Choosingtostudytechnology

settingthestagefortheirfuturecareersinthetech

T

hedecisiontopursueatech-relateddegreemarksafoundationalmomentoftruthformanywomen,

industry.Indeed,threeinfourwomenintechnicalpositionssaythathavingarelevantdegreeremainsacritical

requirementfortheirrole.

Ourdatarevealsawidevarianceintheproportionof

womenenrolledintech-relatedcoursesacrossSoutheastAsia,from36%inthePhilippinesto58%inMalaysia.In