On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the UK Government in collaboration with the Asean secretariat proudly launched the Asean-UK Sage Women in STEM Scholarships. This initiative aims to address gender disparities in STEM education and employment within Asean countries and Timor-Leste.

While girls outperform boys in mathematics and science in primary and secondary education across Asean countries, a gender gap starts to appear in tertiary STEM education with only 19.3 percent of women obtaining STEM degrees compared to 39.8 percent of men. The 2022 United Nations (UN) progress report on SDG 5-Gender Equality reveals only 20 percent of jobs in STEM are held by women globally, and various studies highlight disparities in publication, pay, and career progression for women in STEM.