Women make conical hats in a  craft village (Photo: VOV)

At the workshop on Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)”, Lisa Brodey, Director of the Office for Science and Technology Cooperation at the US State Department, said an environment favorable for dynamic and prosperous development of 21 member economies depend largely on science, technology, and innovation. But she said it’s difficult for women and girls to pursue STEM as stereotype and cultural constraints discourage them from developing their career. Participants shared success stories of women in STEM, discussed ways to cultivate a STEM-enabling environment, close the gender gap in STEM-education and strengthen and sustain women in the field. Deborah McDonald, a delegate from New Zealand, said: One of the opportunities of working together in the APEC, education networks and human resource development working groups is to work together to find solutions, to create opportunities, to make education and human resource accessible to all of our citizens.       We learn from each other, and we look at best practice, strategies, policies that other economies are using to open access to education. One of the subjects that we’ve been talking about in the APEC meetings is education and human resource here in Vietnam, it is a shared challenge that all of our economies are facing with. We are talking about how we can work together to find ways to make digital innovation accessible to anyone.”

At the meeting of Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy (PPWE) within APEC SOM2, Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs Doan Mau Diep underscored the role of women in the development of APEC economies. He called for more actions to make APEC cooperation more substantive and beneficial to all women, so that no single woman is left behind socio-economic growth, which women can contribute to.