Four in Five STEM Graduates in the Asia Pacific Take Less than Six Months to Land their First Job. 

A study carried out in the framework of Mastercard´s Girls in STEM Asia program among 2,270 girls aged 12-25 across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore shows that while studying STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) helps girls lands jobs easily, 42 percent of STEM first-jobbers believe we need to change society’s perception of STEM in order to attract the next generation of young women to pursue a career in related fields.

The average age when girls make their final decisions about their careers is according to the survey: 14-15 years. When asked what would attract girls to pursue STEM careers, young girls (17-19 years old) cited scholarships (38 percent), successful women in STEM as role models (34 percent), and greater support from schools and institutions (32 percent) as the top three motivators.

Among first jobbers who graduated with a STEM degree, 84 percent indicated that they took less than six months to land their first job and 60 percent of these graduates were very satisfied with the job options they had upon graduation. 39% of the replicants still believe that their gender will make it hard for them to advance in their job.
The three reasons why many girls don´t go for STEM careers are still:

1. STEM jobs have more men than women
2. Women are generally less interested in STEM
3. Society and the media do not encourage girls to join STEM.