Contrary to the popular perception that girls are made for arts and boys for science, a new study has revealed that majority of girls in India prefer to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). According to the latest edition of Mastercard Girls in Tech survey, 66 per cent of girls opted for a STEM profession.
Sixty-six per cent of girls in the age group of 15-19 participated in STEM subjects in school. About 80 per cent of STEM intenders or majors were planning to work in STEM after completing their studies.
Main reasons for pursuing STEM studies are performance in the subjects, higher salary in future, and passion for STEM. Women are also drawn to science subjects because of the opportunities for career advancement and continuous learning offered by a STEM career.
With a high job satisfaction, 68 per cent of STEM professionals found employment in less than 6 months as against non-STEM professionals who took a year to decide on their career choice. The non – STEM professionals indicated a 33 per cent lower job satisfaction.
The study was conducted in December 2016 across 2,270 girls between the age group of 12 - 25 across six countries in Asia Pacific.
Master Card has a Girls4Tech education programme, where employees are engaged as role models and mentors, to showcase Mastercard’s innovative payment technology and demonstrate the value of STEM-related subjects and careers through various exercises. The hands-on, inquiry based programme was created by the company’s top engineers and technologists, and rolled out to markets last year in Asia Pacific such as Australia, India, China and Singapore.
