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The Rising Interest in STEM Among Arab Women
By: Meral Abu-Jaser /Arab America Contributing Writer
Foundationally, there has been a highly noticeable rise of interest in STEM Among Arab women. This has made changes in history through gender norms and female stereotypes. Statistics from studies done by universities, communities, and industries always show a significant gap. The gap represents women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics-related courses compared to men. However, that is not the case in the Arab world. As a matter of fact, it is the complete opposite! Arab women have surpassed men in several Arab countries by having a higher percentage of enrollment in STEM majors. This is the result of test requirements before majoring in higher education, the desire for prestige, and a common need for financial stability. Given these circumstances, the rise of interest in STEM among Arab women has heavily increased in Arab countries.
What Makes Arab Women Superior to Men in STEM
In the meantime, tests taken during the last year in high school is tied with university admissions. Therefore, it would be difficult to be admitted in STEM fields with tests playing a big role in majoring. In able to get into a science and math major, students require an above-average grade. Engineering and medicine related majors require an even higher course grade in order to qualify for these majors. Thus, high performance through grade school is significant in Arab culture. With high performance comes more opportunities in STEM. Courses taken on the test include all the STEM field courses as well as literature and history. Having that in mind, females tend to perform better than males academically. As a result, they have better opportunities in choosing a major and therefore dominates STEM fields.
Another aspect that marked the rise of Arab women in STEM is prestige. Generally speaking, the Arab world greatly values education. Therefore, in some countries, your field of study can change someone’s perspective of you. Thereupon, women are one step ahead in scoring higher on their exams and thus can major in STEM. This enables them to seek and enjoys a higher social status through careers in STEM. According to statistics written by Rania Dajani, Arab women in Jordan make up 64% of the students graduating with natural science, medicine, and pharmacy. Moreover, an addition of 60% of engineering students in the Gulf is also Arab women. In contrast to the stereotype in the west, gender norms are not the same in the Arab world. In fact, Arab women lean toward STEM majors. This is not a social obligation, but because women are interested in the course studied.
The Purpose of Women Majoring in STEM
Lastly, Arab women have become more independent since the early 20th century. This means women need to be financially stable. With that, education plays a huge role in finding a job. As a matter of fact, each major has its own average salary. Because of this, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are course studies that come with a higher average salary. According to a study done by UNESCO, Arab women in the Gulf pursue a degree in computer science with 59% of the total student enrollment.
In Conclusion, there has been an interesting rise of Arab women in STEM. This is has been noticeable since the early 20th century. For this reason, the diverse culture of the Arab world is enhanced. This has fostered major social benefits and more development in modern society. As you can tell, gender norms in the STEM fields are an issue in many countries. Yet, this phenomenon is not on the list for Arabs. As they continue to ascend from gender norms and stereotypes brought on in these fields. All things considered, Arab women are on the rise for success because of their academic achievements. Moreover for their desire for prestige. Lastly for the need to be financially stable and independent.
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