Closing the Gender Gap in STEM Across the Mediterranean: For every woman who refused to sit still

Imagine a girl raised in a place where dreams rarely go beyond what’s expected of her. From a young age, she dreamt of becoming an engineer, of building things for her community, of being the woman her town had never seen before, but when the moment came to choose that path, she was told, "This is not okay." She was pushed toward a ‘softer’ career, something more ‘suitable’ for women. The message was clear: in her world, STEM still belongs to men. This isn’t a distant memory; it’s a reality that many women still face across the Euro-Mediterranean region today. Through my research, I kept asking: why, in a world advancing so quickly, are women still held back from STEM? According to UNESCO (2024), women account for only 35% of global STEM students, with participation rates in the MENA region falling even lower. I was inspired to explore this topic because growing up, society constantly tried to shape me into believing STEM wasn’t for me. People told me that marriage was the most important part of a woman’s life and that working in technology would destroy any chance of having a home or family. Despite this, I chose to study computer science, a decision that was judged and questioned at every step, from hearing “you should have picked an easier major” to having my ideas overlooked in project teams simply because I was a woman. These experiences made me ask a simple question: how can we end this cycle? And to answer that, I knew I first had to understand why it persists. One key finding was how deeply social norms are still shaping expectations. For example, Women are often told to prioritize marriage, caregiving, and family, and the idea of stepping outside this “acceptable” role is seen as breaking tradition, while careers in engineering or tech are labelled too ambitious for her to handle.  

Even when women pursue careers in STEM, they encounter a significant barrier: workplace discrimination. Many shared how male colleagues constantly underestimated them, not because of a lack of skill, but simply because they are just women, so they must work twice as hard to be taken seriously. Some women didn’t leave their positions due to failure; they left because they were exhausted from being overlooked and receiving lower pay for the same work as their male colleagues. But still, change is possible, and it starts with changing mindsets. We need to educate communities, especially in under-represented areas, about the importance of giving girls the freedom to choose their own path by introducing them to workshops that can offer real inspiration. These experiences help them see what’s possible and show parents that they may be holding back their daughters’ futures without even realizing it. Men must also contribute to this shift by understanding how to treat women with fairness and respect in the workplace. In addition, we must invest in girls early by introducing them to STEM at a young age through coding classes, science projects, and exposure to tech environments that broaden their vision before stereotypes take hold. Finally, we need to develop more regional programmes aimed at empowering women in STEM and initiatives that connect women to mentorship opportunities, funding sources, and networks that not only help them enter the field but also enable them to thrive within it. In the end, this isn’t just about women; it’s about creating a more just and innovative society where everyone has the chance to thrive. When we give every girl the freedom to choose her own path, whether she wants to build, explore, invent, or be a mother, we all benefit from her ideas and contributions. That’s why we need to stop telling her what she can’t do and start showing her what’s possible.