‘Global Leader Panel Discussion: Charting STEM Career’ at MUET Jamshoro 70 pc females in STEM not contributing due to different reasons Striking balance between professional work and the family; extremely difficult to give 100 percent either side.

A group of highly regarded women engineers working with leading engineering universities and organizations around the world came to a consensus during a panel discussion at Mehran University of Engineering & Technology, Jamshoro that it is almost impossible to strike a balance between professional work and the family and thus it turns extremely difficult to give 100 percent either side.
They talked about launching proper training for women so that they took active participation in working committees, created resilience and assertiveness, and have potential work-from-home opportunities to balance family needs and thus reduce stress.
Titled as ‘Global Leader Panel Discussion: Charting STEM Career’ was part of the International Women Engineers Conference, organized by the Women Engineers Development Committee (WEDC) of the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) held at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology Jamshoro.
The panelists included Dr. Mamiko Reeves, International Programs Strategist, Northwood University, Midland, Michigan, United States, Dr. Alex Lockwood, Strategic Content Integrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Dr. Alberta Adjebeng Biritwum-Nyarko, Director, Policy Planning Monitoring & Evaluation, Division, Ghana Health Service Headquarters, Shelley J. Bausch, Senior Vice President, Global Industrial Coatings and Prof. Dr. Khadija Qureshi, Convener, Women Engineer Development Committee, PEC, Chairperson, Department of Chemical, Engineering, Mehran University of Engineering & Technology Jamshoro. Dr. Mamiko Reeves moderated the session.
They were of the view that engineering plays an important role in solving global challenges, and driving innovations for its continuous success a diversified pool is needed. Women Engineer Development Committee (WEDC) of the Pakistan Engineering Council contributes to a diverse and innovative engineering workforce.
The panel discussion started with the sharing of the journeys of the panelists and how they could manage to reach these leadership positions. They emphasized the challenges of balancing work and family, discussing their commitment to caring for both their families and professional roles. Early experiences in taking care of younger siblings were highlighted as formative. The panelists addressed the importance of promoting healthy relationships within working teams, effective interactions with women in various positions, and the development of a nurturing culture to support one another in organizations. While talking about balancing work and family, the panelists said that it is quite difficult rather impossible to give 100 percent to both.
Panelists were asked about the values they would like to impart through their work, and they underscored commitment, teamwork, creating a friendly workplace culture, integrity, adaptability, honesty, effective coordination, respect for coworkers, and encouragement of those striving for the organization’s success. They also emphasized the idea that a leader’s success lies in building other leaders.
As per the recent survey, 30 percent of women in STEM are employed whereas 20 percent are unemployed and 50 percent are not working or taking part in any activity due to various reasons. Collectively, 70% of females in STEM are not contributing due to different reasons. There is a high need for improvement and working for the empowerment of these ladies so effective output should be obtained for the women in STEM.
The panelists recommended mentoring as crucial for women’s career development and higher education, the importance of doing good and being good, self-assessment for daily progress, and the significance of both formal and informal mentoring. They stated that mentoring is very important and it gives important life lessons also.
Regarding opportunities to change things for women in work organizations, the panelists supported proper training for women, active participation in working committees, resilience and assertiveness, potential work-from-home opportunities to balance family needs and reduce stress, and the encouragement of the younger generation to gain skills, seek opportunities, and inspire leaders to recognize their potential.
It’s high time academicians, government and industry can work together to develop strategies to help demystify engineering making it more accessible to women and young people and empowering them to realize their potential in the field of engineering.n