The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN) in Bangladesh on Wednesday signed a contribution contract with a consortium for the program titled "SheSTEM: Career Knows No Gender." SheSTEM is championing women's participation in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) - based education and careers.
LightCastle Partners, Bangladesh's leading business consulting firm, is the lead of the consortium. The EKN Embassy Charge d'Affaires Thijs Woudstra and LightCastles Partners Chief Executive Officer Bijon Islam signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides, says a press release.
The signing ceremony was graced by Dr. Masrur Reaz, Chairman of Policy Exchange Bangladesh; Md. Afzal Hossain Sarwar, Head (Future of Education) of a2i; Mirza Salman Beg, Chief Operating Officer of 10 Minutes School; Nayeem Kashem, MEL Advisor of DevLearn, and relevant Embassy officials and team members of the consortium.
Held at the EKN Embassy in Dhaka, the event was joined by other consortium partners: 10 Minute School, the a2i programme of the Ministry of ICT, Policy Exchange Bangladesh & DevLearn, and officials of the Embassy.
Effective from November (2023) to April 2026, the SheSTEM project will promote the participation of Bangladeshi females in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) related jobs and increase their opportunities in STEM jobs via policy advocacy & skills development.
The ceremony was told that Smart Bangladesh will depend on innovation, tech adaptation, and a skilled workforce comprising all genders. Development & advancement of innovation is directly correlated to growth in STEM subjects.
Thus it is vital to emphasize the STEM subjects and bring on board all genders, as we cannot thrive fully if more than half of the able workforce is lagging or not fully participating and contributing to development.
Although Bangladesh (43%) is striding ahead of our neighbouring countries in female participation in the workforce (i.e. India at 24% and Pakistan at 25%), female STEM graduates and participation in the workforce in STEM jobs remain low. It is vital to decrease the gender gap to harness the full potential of the available talent.
SheSTEM is a consortium-driven program that aims to serve as a nexus between public university students and public (primarily) & private businesses to increase skills, engagement, participation, equity, and inclusion in STEM careers.
