As a woman in science, I've spent a lot of time reflecting on the people and experiences that have influenced my academic and career journey. When I was at a formative "fork-in-the-road" in life, who was also there? Who encouraged me to follow my passion, try new and difficult things, and choose the path leading upwards? And also, who was lurking in the shadows, whispering words of doubt into my ears, and pushing me in the other direction? That question followed me into my Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms fellowship in the Philippines, where I spent two weeks in Manila and Davao asking a specific version of it: how do Filipino teachers and institutions support girls pursuing STEM?
My answer is not a nice, neat package tied up with a bow. I was an outside observer for only two weeks, and I know that my experiences were filtered through my own American context and my own personal history with this question. It definitely wasn't enough time to fully diagnose another country's gender dynamics, and I've tried to hold my conclusions with the humility that limitation deserves. However, two weeks was enough to notice patterns worth taking seriously, even if I can't claim to fully explain them.
At the Philippine Science High School-Davao Region Campus, that highly selective national institution for scientifically gifted students, most of the science faculty have PhDs in their subject area. Most of those teachers are also women. At the University of Mindanao, I visited multiple labs (from genetics to biofuels) and met the women who were the lead researchers. These were not exceptions used to highlight "diversity": they just happened to be the scientists who were in charge of those projects. In neither place did I encounter the specific belief that hit me in the gut in 1995, when a professor told my mammalogy class that women don't belong in science. That particular obstacle (the explicit, stated doubt that a woman belongs in science) does not seem to be operating at the institutional level in the Philippines. How glorious!
Despite this abundance of women-in-STEM role models, there was one place that I didn't see any women: the top. Every school principal and all of the Department of Education officials were men. This might have been purely coincidence, and there might very well be women principals and administrators at other school locations, but it was striking for me to see such a huge shift from full-representation at the classroom level to none at all at the decision-making level. This isn't unique to the Philippines. In the U.S., most teachers are women, but only about 30% of superintendents are. Representation seems to erode as you step up the ladder, in both countries.
I also consistently heard that women remain underrepresented in the math and engineering fields, which is consistent with the situation in the United States. Additionally, beneath the institutional picture sits something no school tour or presentation could fully show me: real, ongoing cultural pressure for women to prioritize family and home over career, a dynamic that shapes decisions long before a talented student ever reaches a research lab.
So: where are the girls in STEM in the Philippines? Many of them are already leading research and teaching the next generation. Some are navigating real pressure to choose family over a scientific career. And some, in classrooms I visited this year, were simply harder to find than I expected.
While the Philippines (like the U.S) has not solved this issue, my time there provided critical takeaways that shape how I approach solutions as a science teacher and director of Villanova's Clare Boothe Luce STEM program:
Normalizing Women Expertise (The Power of "Visible Mastery"): Seeing high-level laboratories and advanced campuses led by women showed me that representation cannot just be an occasional guest speaker; it must be the baseline environment.
My takeaway as an educator: I must intentionally normalize women scientific mastery in my classroom. This means integrating case studies of active women researchers, connecting my students directly with women mentors in specialized fields, and showing young women that leading a lab is not an anomaly, but an achievable norm.
Dismantling of "Track-Specific" Stereotypes: Observing that women in the Philippines thrive in biological and environmental sciences but still face drop-offs in physics, engineering, and administrative leadership reinforced that gender disparities are highly field-specific.
How I can address this in the classroom: Equity efforts cannot be one-size-fits-all. In my own biology and environmental science classes, I can intentionally embed cross-disciplinary skills (such as quantitative data modeling, coding, and physical engineering concepts) so that my women students build confidence in these areas. Through our Clare Boothe Luce program, I am also actively encouraging girls to take AP Physics, computer science, and advanced math electives before they graduate, preventing self-selection out of these fields prior to college.
Cultivating Leadership, Not Just Participation: The stark contrast between high female teacher representation and all-male administrative leadership highlighted a systemic leak in the pipeline.
My takeaway for student empowerment: It is not enough to teach girls how to do science; we must teach them how to lead science. Moving forward, I am building explicit leadership, advocacy, and project-management skills into my STEM programming at Villanova Prep so that my women students are not only prepared to enter scientific fields, but to eventually occupy the decision-making seats at the top.
By pairing visible representation with targeted skill-building and leadership development, I am returning to my classroom equipped to build a more resilient, comprehensive pathway for the next generation of women in STEM.