In the recently-published World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2023, there remains to be a significant employment gap between men and women in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) sector–with the Philippines having the widest gender gap at 22%–which it also shares with the US and the UK.

Based on data gathered by LinkedIn, women in the Philippines comprised 58.8% of the workforce in non-STEM fields but only 36.3% in the STEM workforce. Compared to other countries in the Asia Pacific region, Australia has a 21% employment gender gap, while Singapore is lower at 15%. The lowest gender gap in the Asia Pacific region is India at 5%.

Based on LinkedIn’s findings, they noticed two key trends regarding the gender gap at the STEM sector in the Philippines. First is that while women comprised 4 out of 10 (41%) of STEM graduates in 2017, only slightly more than 3 out of 10 (36.6%) were in the STEM workforce a year later. The drop in representation between graduation and joining the workforce has been stable at around 11% from the 2017 graduating batch, but it spiked to 14% in 2021.

A second key finding reveals that the decline in female representation from graduation to joining the STEM workforce is due to the lack of female role models in the field. In the Philippines, the average drop off in female representation between graduation and entering the STEM workforce is at 14%, resulting in wider gender gaps in STEM employment at 22% for the country.

The Global Gender Gap Report and LinkedIn’s data show that systemic change is needed to make workplaces more fair and equal to future-proof women’s careers and be more resilient to labor market uncertainty. 

“While action is already being taken to close the gender gap, we need to go further and faster to level the playing field. Enabling more women to enter and advance in rapidly growing sectors such as STEM will help make them more resilient to external economic shocks,” LinkedIn Philippines Head of Emerging Markets Atul Harkisanka said. 

“Organizations can create mentoring and training programs for women in STEM, where they can support women to stay in the workforce and further their careers, but also provide invaluable guidance and support networks, facilitating a path towards leadership roles through the influence of inspiring role models. Inclusive hiring practices, visibility of women in top jobs, and upskilling and career growth opportunities for women, particularly in high-growth and high-earning sectors like STEM, will help correct this worrying trend, but we need to act now,” he added.