Manpower Minister Tan See Leng's endowment will support scholarships for women pursuing Stem degrees at NTU.SINGAPORE - Women pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics will get a boost with a $1 million gift from Manpower Minister Tan See Leng.
He launched the endowment to advance women in Stem careers at a forum commemorating the first anniversary of NTU's Promotion of Women in Engineering, Research, and Science programme, which aims to close the gender gap in these fields. "For Singapore to become a truly fair and inclusive society, we require a whole-of-society effort to shift mindsets on gender roles, challenge biases and break barriers that limit women's potential and contributions," he said.
Dr Tan is an only child and in a previous interview with The Straits Times, said his mother sold Tupperware, gave tuition and baked cookies to sell at Chinese New Year to help support the family. His father was a bus timekeeper. Their intentions were well-meaning because the role involved travelling extensively and they knew that she had just returned from maternity leave, she added.Ms Chin said: "Let's not assume that young mothers will not take up the challenge of a job that will take them away from home because each individual is different".
The panellists' appeal comes after a Powers' study published last month found that half of the women in the Stem industry believe it is harder to get a job and progress in their career due to their gender.