Women’s STEM leadership crosses borders- we need an international conversation about supporting it.

SAGE joined the Australian Embassy in Jakarta at a panel discussion on “Breaking Barriers: Women’s Leadership in Science and Research” to celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), through their Knowledge Partnership Platform, KONEKSI.

The event, held in partnership with the Indonesia Australia Partnership for Infrastructure (KIAT) and Australia Awards Indonesia, underscored the importance of promoting women’s participation and leadership in STEM through collaborative efforts to tackle gender disparities.

Australian Deputy Ambassador, Steve Scott, emphasised the impact of having women leaders in STEM as visible role models for women and girls, “because you can’t be what you can’t see.”

Deputy Ambassador Scott further highlighted that low participation of women in STEM sectors can result in knowledge gaps, and in lower levels of research and innovation capability.

Alongside SAGE CEO Dr Janin Bredehoeft, Panel speakers included Ir Suharti, Secretary General for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, Ms Cindy Priadi, Associate Professor at the Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universitas Indonesia, and Professor Corina Riantoputra from the KIAT program.

KONEKSI is a collaborative initiative in the research and innovation sector that supports partnerships between Australian and Indonesian organisations for inclusive and sustainable policy and technology. Supported by the Governments of Australia and Indonesia, the program promotes equitable research partnerships between institutions in Australia and Indonesia to address socio-economic challenges.