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| Lecturer of College of Mechanics and Irrigation (right cover) guides students to experience the electrical profession in the German Career Guidance Bus event. Photo: H.Yen |
However, many female students are still hesitant and confused when faced with the choice of whether to pursue this field or not.
The advantage of women in STEM
Graduated from the Industrial Electronics major at Lilama 2 International Technology College (Long Phuoc Commune), Ms. Thai Thi Bao Tran was retained to work at the school and is currently a lecturer in the Industrial Electronics Department, Faculty of Technology Engineering. From her own experience, Ms. Bao Tran believes that women have special qualities suitable for engineering fields.
“Women will be more meticulous and careful while working and studying. This carefulness and meticulousness is an important factor that helps women achieve success in jobs that require high precision,” said Ms. Tran.
In addition, the learning and working environment in STEM fields often has a low proportion of women, which in turn creates an advantage. Ms. Tran emphasized: "Because the environment has a low proportion of women, women will also receive more attention and support."
On May 10, the Institute for Management and Sustainable Development (MSD) in collaboration with the Ho Chi Minh City Student Support Center and Cao Thang Technical College organized the 2025 Women and STEM Conference. According to information from the conference, Vietnam currently has about 30% of women participating in the STEM field, which is still a modest number. However, women's abilities are not inferior to men.
This has been proven through the journey of Ms. Bao Tran herself. During her college years, she was the only female student in a class of more than 20 members. However, this helped her receive the attention and dedicated guidance from teachers, overcome initial obstacles, integrate well and study excellently, even doing better than her male classmates.
Similar to Ms. Bao Tran, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Yen is the only female student in the Industrial Electronics class K17, Lilama 2 International Technology College. Ms. Yen said that because the curriculum was quite heavy and mainly focused on practice, at first she encountered many surprises, confusion and sometimes felt pressured and afraid because she was the only female student in the class. However, because of that, Ms. Yen received enthusiastic attention and support from teachers and friends. Thanks to that, she gradually adapted, became more confident and increasingly loved her major.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Diem My, who graduated from intermediate level in computer network administration at Dong Nai Technical College (Tran Bien ward), also shared the advantages of studying STEM. Accordingly, many female students studying engineering not only have passion but also have academic achievements that are not inferior to their male counterparts. Typically, Ms. Diem My is in the top 5 excellent students of the major at the school.
Dr. Huynh Anh Binh, a psychologist and director of the Ho Chi Minh City Career Guidance Center, affirmed that women’s abilities when participating in the technical sector are not inferior to men’s. Mr. Binh pointed out a noteworthy fact that “many leaders of technical departments and majors of universities and colleges are women”. Furthermore, with the development of automation, labor is no longer an obstacle for women to participate in the technical sector, because “automation has liberated labor”.
Notably, some large enterprises in Dong Nai also tend to prioritize recruiting women for technical positions.
See clearly the difficulties to overcome
The view on whether or not female students should study STEM is changing positively. Ms. Bao Tran noticed that more and more female students are choosing to study engineering and actively seeking job opportunities in this field. The reason for this change is that society is becoming more modern, gender stereotypes are gradually being eliminated, and there are more and more successful female role models in engineering. In addition, gender equality policies are receiving more attention and concern, which also contributes to expanding job opportunities for women.
Female engineers and technicians are having a more diverse working environment. Industries such as automation and technical design are very suitable for women. In addition, women can also work in business-related fields such as sales, product development in the technical field, etc.
Despite many advantages, female students studying STEM still face some difficulties. Ms. Bao Tran admitted: “The problem of gender bias still exists, so female students have to try harder to prove themselves, even try twice as hard to affirm their abilities.”
In addition, health issues are also a factor to consider. Ms. Bao Tran believes that when doing jobs that require physical strength, women are still at a disadvantage. In addition, environments with few women can also make women feel isolated and find it difficult to share.
Ms. Bui Thi Minh Anh, a student majoring in automation at Dong Nai Technical College, shared another difficulty: if she does not have a real passion for her major, female students can easily get discouraged during the learning process...
For female students who are hesitant, Ms. Diem My gives advice: "Don't be afraid of difficulties, try your best to achieve your goals."
From her own experience, Ms. Minh Anh emphasized the importance of carefully researching information about the major and subjects in the training program to see if it is really suitable for you. At the same time, Ms. Minh Anh also advised female students to equip themselves with digital and information technology knowledge if they want to pursue STEM majors.
It can be seen that, although there are still prejudices and challenges, women can confidently pursue and succeed in the STEM field. The most important thing is passion, thorough research and the will to constantly strive.
Hai Yen
Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/202507/nu-sinh-tham-gia-khoi-nganh-stem-can-biet-tan-dung-the-manh-2ac16e8/
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