Speech by Minister Indranee Rajah at UWS STEM Festival 2025

President of United Women Singapore, Ms Tan Ching Ne

Board Members of United Women Singapore

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good afternoon, everyone. It is great to be here with you today.  I was just listening to Ms Georgette Tan (Immediate Past President of the United Women Singapore) tell me that the sign-ups for today is 930, which exceeds the previous year. I am really looking forward to next year for you to reach the 1,000 mark, so here’s to all of you.  I am really happy to be here at your fourth STEM festival, to celebrate the successes of United Women Singapore’s STEM programmes. It  would not have been possible without the steadfast dedication and hard work of everyone here, and more importantly, that sense of mission. Every time I meet your board members and staff, there is that driving energy to want to get more women, more girls into STEM, or now STEAM (STEM integrating Arts) as well. Beyond encouraging women to develop talents in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, it is also about empowering women to optimise their full potential and uplifting them to become future leaders in their chosen fields. about empowering women to optimise their full potential and uplifting them to become future leaders in their chosen fields.

Dream. Discover. Disrupt.

The theme of the festival today is “Dream. Discover. Disrupt”. It is apt, and it could not be more timely, because  creativity and entrepreneurship are all the more important for navigating an increasingly complex global environment that we operate in. It reflects not only the individual journey of every young woman daring to step into a field that they may not be familiar with, but also our vision for a future which embraces diversity, inclusiveness, and the courage to explore new ideas.

STEM has become the cornerstone for Singapore’s continued progress in a technology-driven world. Our sustained investment in STEM education and research has enabled us to push the boundaries of innovation – be it the development of a novel catalyst by A*STAR that transforms carbon dioxide into sustainable aviation fuel, supporting the decarbonisation of air travel, or the creation of one of the world’s largest long-read RNA sequencing datasets to advance precision medicine. It has also helped us to better overcome the constraints presented by our lack of space and natural resources, to develop our people, who are our greatest resource. So basically, STEM has enabled us to do it all.

Every Transformation Begins with A Dare to Dream  

Many of us have heard of the saying “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. In the spirit of the theme of this event – I would suggest a variation, which is that “every transformation begins with a dare to dream”. Dreams are powerful - they propel individuals to imagine what could be, and to challenge what is. This is where change begins. It begins with a dream, it begins with an idea and today, we are here to encourage these dreams, and turn them into reality.

Singapore is proud to be able to support bold dreams and aspirations, and to champion change through our national transformation initiatives. These include our Smart Nation, National AI 2.0 and National Quantum strategies, as well as the Singapore Green Plan 2030, which have been refreshed and steadily implemented through the years. These national initiatives signify active steps that we take as a country and a people, to be more future-ready, and to demonstrate innovation, sustainability and digital leadership. 

Enabling Discovery

Education is a critical enabler for the actualisation of these plans. Through education, we hone our students’ knowledge and skills, and help them seize the opportunities to become STEM-proficient.

We have steadily embedded STEM into our national curriculum, to foster students’ interest in STEM from a young age. In primary schools, SPARKLE kits are used during science lessons to provide hands-on applied learning and catalyse conversations around science. At the secondary level, students are encouraged to deepen their interests in STEM through programmes such as the Applied Learning Programmes, and national level competitions like the Singapore Science and Engineering Fair.

Students keen to pursue their interests in STEM may take part in co-curricular activities such as robotics and environmental science clubs, and programmes offered by the Science Centre for informal STEM learning opportunities. With the “Transforming Education through Technology” Masterplan 2030, all students will personally experience the potential for technology to augment their capabilities, thereby appreciating more deeply the role that STEM plays in our lives. There can also be explorations with industry partners to feature the real-life applications of technology, further spurring an early appreciation of STEM learning.

Additionally, our Institutes of Higher Learning offer scholarships, education and career guidance, which include regular career fairs, open houses and internship opportunities. These help students to gain awareness and exposure to the wide variety of STEM-related courses and careers. Even in the working years, there are opportunities to upgrade or refresh one’s STEM-related skills through SkillsFuture programmes and courses. 

All of these efforts, put together, form a comprehensive ecosystem for dynamic and lifelong STEM learning.

Empowering Women to Pursue Their STEM Aspirations

Over the last decade, women in Singapore have made good progress in their careers. In 2024, the labour force participation rate for female residents aged 25 to 64 was nearly 81%, an approximate 8% increase from 73% a decade ago. More women in the workforce have attained higher education qualifications, with almost half of female employed residents in 2024 holding a university degree. However, while the proportion of women in STEM occupations is now higher, with the proportion rising from 29% in 2014 to 35% in 2024, there is still more that we can do to encourage such positive trends.

First, more can be done to build conducive working environments in male-dominated fields like STEM, to empower women to better manage the challenges of balancing work and family commitments, the latter of which is often a key factor in their career-related decisions. 

Women tend to shoulder a greater share of caregiving duties at home, hence, they may feel more compelled to put their family plans on hold, for fear of losing job and promotion opportunities.

Towards this end, the Government has introduced a Workplace Fairness Act, which will prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of characteristics such as sex, marital status, pregnancy and caregiving responsibilities. It will be implemented by 2027.

Secondly, proactive support from mentors and allies in STEM provides guidance, inspiration and access to networks that can help women excel at what they do.

On this front, United Women Singapore has done good work to improve access to quality mentoring opportunities. They introduced the STEMentorship programme in 2021, and in four short years, matched over 500 young women to industry mentors, to strengthen their STEM identities and chart their career pathways in their respective fields. There are speed mentoring sessions available at the interactive booths today, so I hope you will take the opportunity to build new connections with a variety of experts and gain valuable insights from them.

I am also very heartened to hear that over 60% of men surveyed as part of United Women Singapore’s latest research believed that they have a role to play in supporting women in STEM¹. Let’s give them a big hand. This is encouraging, as meaningful change can only accelerate with male allyship. In this regard, I am pleased to see so many men in this room, offering your support as mentors and volunteers. This will help reinforce aspirations and build pathways for women keen to pursue STEM careers.

Lastly, we must recognise the role parents, as well as the broader society, play in shaping young women’s aspirations. United Women Singapore’s research has consistently shown that parents are the biggest influencers when it comes to decisions about higher education and career paths.  

I resonate with this. Growing up, my mother never pressured me to do anything I did not want to do, or only to do certain subjects. She just basically asked me what I would like to do, and did I think that I could do it. If the answer to both questions are positive, I could just go ahead. So that was the basis of giving me confidence and the ability to make my own choices. The choices were not made for me and it allowed me to know that I could still fulfil my responsibilities at work, without feeling somehow I was not doing what my parents wanted me to do.

Making Big Waves, One Step At A Time

Let me just conclude by commending United Women Singapore for all your efforts in advancing women’s interests in STEM. Through your partnerships with STEM industry leaders, you provide vital resources such as mentorship, financial literacy and most importantly, real-world experiences that are invaluable for girls and women in STEM. A huge thank you to all the volunteers and mentors present today - you are in the room, you know who you are - as well the Digital and Intelligence Service, who have taken time out of your busy schedules to make this event happen.

May this year’s STEM festival ignite innovation in all of you, and serve as a beacon of what you can achieve. Dream BIG, Discover BIG, and Disrupt BIG. 

Thank you all very much, and I wish you all a fruitful day at the festival!

 ¹Women in STEM: The Power of Allyship, April 2025 (www.uws.org.sg/research)