More Arab Women Studying STEM

For as long as she can remember, Amirah Ahmad Daghache has had a fascination with electronics and computer systems. As a child growing up in Saudi Arabia, Daghache did really well in math and says she was "the nerd that enjoyed doing her math homework."

Today, Daghache, a Palestinian-Canadian, is putting those math skills to use as a telecommunications engineering major at the Canadian University of Dubai.

"I'm hoping to pursue my degree and work on programming for media companies," says Daghache, who is the student representative for the School of Engineering, tasked with working with university officials to help solve engineering students' concerns.

No longer just a boys' club, the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields are being infiltrated by more women who are pursuing, and excelling, at these subjects offered by Arab region universities. Studying STEM was a natural choice for Daghache, who is doing an internship at streaming and video-on-demand platform, Icflix, and has future plans for a master's in computer programming.

See how Arab universities [are offering opportunities to women.]

"I've already started my career in the field and I'm very optimistic about the future," says Daghache. "I'm hoping to find new and better ways to organize databases and make it easier and smoother for customers and clients to connect to media servers."

In the Gulf region, women comprise 60 percent of engineering students in universities, compared with 30 percent in the U.S. and Europe, according to UNESCO.

Hind Zantout, professor at the School of Mathematical & Computer Sciences, Heriot-Watt University Dubai Campus, says women in her undergraduate computer science courses actively engage with the subject matter on par with their male peers. She believes it is beginning to have a positive impact in the technology startup market. And, Zantout sees multiple roles to be filled by women as the number and type of Internet-connected devices continues to expand.

"With the Internet of Things fast hurtling toward us, there is also a pressing need for women to take part in shaping this new world from all its aspects, be it legal, social or technological," says Zantout.

Feda Abdullah Al-Majed, a Saudi national, just graduated with a bachelor's degree in management information systems from Jubail University College in Saudi Arabia. While a student, she founded Girly Talk, a beauty and lifestyle blog, an idea that won her first place for the 2014 Business Ideas Competition at her school.

"It all started with a beauty blog. Then we opened our online store where we sold makeup and cosmetic bags designed and made completely by us," says Al-Majed, who, along with her partner, is opening a physical store.

In January, Al-Majed attended the first women-only hackathon in Dubai, sponsored by the Meera Kaul Foundation and held at the Canadian University of Dubai as part of the Women in STEM 2015 Conference and Awards. Her five-woman team took first place in the two-day coding competition, winning the $5,000 prize for the mobile gaming prototype app they created in nine hours.

Learn how [online education at one Saudi university is engaging women.]

"We created a game under the name Unique Hand that was inspired from our culture and the henna designs that are popular in this region," says Al-Majed. "Participating in such a big event opened my eyes to different ideas and gave me the chance to meet new people and increase my connections."

Wes Schwalje, chief operating officer of Tahseen Consulting in the United Arab Emirates, says these types of events have been ways Gulf Cooperation Council countries have sought to expose more students to STEM. While research he has compiled on females in school and at work shows that Arab women have indeed made gains in STEM, he says they "still face significant challenges in the workplace that leads to segmentation into select fields." Some of these challenges include sociocultural barriers, such as ideas about appropriate work and how much men and women should interact in the workplace.

Despite such barriers, women like Soumaya Tebbi, a French-Algerian chemical engineer, are pushing through.

"Working in the Middle East, I have witnessed many companies implementing a diversity policy to increase the number of women at the workplace especially in technical fields, so the opportunities are waiting out there," says Tebbi, a regional sourcing manager working for a major oil and gas service company in the UAE.

Those anticipating working in a male-dominated environment, she says, should be confident they will gain higher respect with their expertise.

Tebbi says STEM can provide many opportunities for women in the Middle East where, she says, gender diversity has not stabilized yet and where technology and innovation are in high demand by employers such as the oil and gas, waste management, fast-moving consumer goods and chemical industries.

Explore the ways [higher education is evolving in the Arab region.]

And STEM can lead to a variety of career paths. Her former engineering classmates are currently working as research and development engineers, consultants, environment managers, business managers and teachers.

When embarking on a career in a STEM field Tebbi advises students to understand the type of career opportunities their STEM programs can offer, seek role models from whom they can gain insight and pursue internships to help shape their career path.

For her part, telecommunications engineering student Daghache says pursuing STEM has made her more confident and "unstoppable," especially when challenging men in the field and breaking down barriers.

"You can only make your mark on the world when you stand out of the crowd," she says.

See the complete rankings of the Best Arab Region Universities.

Anayat Durrani is a Los Angeles-based freelance education reporter for U.S. News, covering Arab region universities.