Where Women Scientists Are the Majority
March 8, 2021•
Physics 14, 35
Women physicists from Lebanon, Palestine, Pakistan, and Egypt share their thoughts about being scientists in places where women make up a much larger share of STEM graduates than in Europe and in the US. From left to right: Marie Abboud, Hadil Abualrob, Anisa Qamar, and Hoda Abou Shady. From left to right: Marie Abboud, Hadil Abualrob, Anisa Qamar, and Hoda Abou Shady.×
From Egypt to Pakistan, countries in the Middle East and Western Asia can appear very different from each other. But their university classrooms share a rare feature: women make up the majority of students of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The picture isn’t fully rosy, however. While this pipeline of women talent is strong in early educational settings, it drops off in the workplace. But a growing number of women in these places are founding start-up companies, landing faculty positions, or leading ambitious