Singapore

Understanding students’ academic preparation in math and science is critical to ensuring success in STEM subjects. Scores from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) allow analysis of the performance of boys and girls across various grades in the Singaporean educational system. The PISA is a series of reports comparing 15-year-olds academic performance across subjects and countries. The TIMSS measures 4th and 8th grades math and science achievement across 64 countries.

In the latest National Survey of Research and Development in Singapore (2018) published by the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research in Singapore, the gender representation of research scientists and engineers were provided for the span of ten years (2008-2018). Over this time, women’s representation among research scientists and engineers has slowly increased. Women represented 26% of research scientists and engineers in 2008, and in 2018, their representation among these STEM workers increased to 30%.

Each year the Ministry of Education in Singapore publishes a report titled Education Statistics Digest, which provides information on gender representation of students admitted, enrolled, and graduated from engineering and engineering sciences across various higher education institutions in Singapore. Across the years of 2016 to 2019, the percentage of female students admitted to engineering and engineering sciences hovers around 22%. Similarly, about 22% of students who graduate from these fields are women in this time period.

Students were also surveyed in the 2018 PISA about their science and engineering career aspirations. While a higher proportion of male and female students from Singapore expect to have a science or engineering career by age 30 compared to the OECD average proportion of boys and girls, a gender difference is evident. Specifically, boys (26%) from Singapore are almost three times as likely to have these career expectations compared to girls (9%).