5.3.3 : Women’s access schemes

Global Women’s Breakfast Sparks Dialogue on Gender Diversity

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) actively provides ongoing women's access schemes and provisions designed to foster gender diversity and empower female leaders in traditionally male-dominated fields, notably science and engineering.

• Dedicated Mentoring and Dialogue Platform: UTM's commitment is demonstrated through its hosting of the Global Women’s Breakfast (GWB) 2024 event, which coincided with the UN Day of Women and Girls in Science. This annual event, spearheaded by the Faculty of Science and Faculty of Chemical & Energy Engineering, serves as a crucial platform for mentoring, discussion, and support for female academics and professionals.
• Focus on Leadership and Professional Advancement: The GWB theme, "Catalyzing Diversity in Science," directly addresses the need for specific provisions to enhance women's access to leadership roles. The discussions emphasized the "importance of promoting women in science leadership roles," underscoring that gender diversity is "imperative for scientific advancement". This focus on professional growth and leadership development constitutes a structural access scheme.
• Commitment to Ongoing Initiatives: The event's organizers expressed optimism that the GWB will become an annual tradition with "expanded outreach and enriched content". The stated need for "sustained efforts" and "ongoing initiatives" to empower women confirms that UTM views these programs as long-term provisions essential for effecting real and lasting change in gender inclusivity within the professional and academic environment.

By institutionalizing events like the Global Women’s Breakfast, UTM provides a necessary, dedicated mechanism that facilitates dialogue, professional networking, and advocacy—key components of a successful women’s access scheme for leadership and scientific participation.

Source :

https://news.utm.my/2024/03/global-womens-breakfast-sparks-dialogue-on-gender-diversity/

Micron Global Female Mentorship Program for Undergraduates and Graduates

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), through its Faculty of Electrical Engineering, provides a highly strategic and impactful women’s access scheme by partnering with a leading global industry player to offer mentoring and direct career opportunities for female students in specialized, high-demand technological fields.

• Formalized Mentorship Provision: The Micron Global Female Mentorship Program for Undergraduates and Graduates is a structured, eight-week access provision open to female students in fields such as Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering, Data Science, and Artificial Intelligence. The program is explicitly designed to help participants "learn about the professional world, acquire new skills, find their voice, and get help in launching successful careers".
• Direct Access to Industry Leadership: A core component of this scheme is the opportunity for students to be "mentored by Micron global female leaders". This dedicated access to high-level industry role models and guidance serves as a powerful intervention to mitigate the challenge of female underrepresentation in technology and engineering, thereby improving female retention and career progression.
• Guaranteed Employment Pathway: The program includes a direct, outcome-focused provision: students are offered the opportunity to "be hired by Micron at the end of this 8-week program". This tangible employment pathway serves as a substantial incentive and a successful metric for an access scheme, directly translating academic participation into professional employment in the global technology sector.

This collaborative program demonstrates UTM's commitment to implementing specialized women's access schemes that go beyond traditional support, offering targeted career provisions, high-level mentoring, and a clear path to employment in critical STEM fields.

Source :

https://fke.utm.my/micron-global-female-mentorship-program-for-undergraduates-and-graduates/

Empowered by AI : Women Leading the Future

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) provides specific women’s access schemes and provisions by initiating focused knowledge-enrichment events designed to empower female students and staff in the strategic, high-growth field of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

• Dedicated Knowledge Enrichment Event: The event, “Empowered by AI: Women Leading the Future,” is a formalized, large-scale provision organized by the Faculty of Artificial Intelligence (FAI) in collaboration with the Post Graduate Student Society (PGSS) and the School of Graduate Studies (SPS). This dedicated, cross-faculty initiative confirms that UTM treats the advancement of women in AI as a strategic priority, moving beyond general equity statements to provide targeted support.
• Provision of Specialized Skills and Future-Ready Access: By focusing explicitly on the theme of AI and women’s leadership, the event serves as a specialized access scheme. It provides female students and staff with tailored knowledge enrichment and skills related to a critical, future-facing domain where gender imbalances often persist. This focus ensures that female participants are equipped with the insights and confidence needed to assume leadership roles in the rapidly evolving technological sector.
• Fostering a Supportive Community: The collaborative organization, involving the faculty, the Post Graduate Student Society, and the School of Graduate Studies, fosters a crucial support network. This collaborative structure helps connect current and future female leaders in AI, providing a platform for mentoring, networking, and mutual support—all vital, non-monetary provisions that enhance the professional access and participation of women within a highly specialized academic and industrial field.

UTM's commitment to hosting this high-profile event demonstrates a structural initiative to provide women with the specialized knowledge and community support necessary to lead the future in AI, effectively positioning the university’s female talent for success in high-impact technological sectors.

Source :

https://events.utm.my/event/empowered-by-ai-women-leading-the-future/

Sri Pulai Sihat dan Cergas: Empowering Women Through Fitness

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) provides an impactful and evidence-based women’s access scheme focused on health and well-being through its Knowledge Transfer Programme – Research Innovation Grant (UTM KTP-RIG) framework. This scheme directly addresses socio-economic barriers to health and participation for women in the local community.

• Formalized Health and Fitness Provision: The sub-project, “Sri Pulai Sihat dan Cergas: Empowering Women through Fitness,” is a comprehensive, year-long initiative dedicated to transforming lives by encouraging healthy and active lifestyles among over 30 women in the Taman Sri Pulai community. This program goes beyond simple one-off activities to offer weekly, sustained access to specialized services.
• Provision of Expertise and Monitoring: The scheme provides specialized coaching and fitness instruction led by UTM Sports Science students, Trio Diva Fitness instructors, and external coaches, offering personalized guidance through various fitness modules (aerobics, yoga, Zumba, etc.). Critically, the program implements a participant profiling system to systematically track improvements in fitness, body composition, and physical endurance. This rigorous, data-driven approach ensures the intervention is effective and provides measurable evidence of success.
• Knowledge Transfer and Empowerment: The program is fundamentally an access scheme for health education, transferring academic knowledge from UTM into practical application for community women. Its success, recognized with a Silver Medal at NALI 2024 and publication in a book chapter, confirms its value as a scalable model for providing marginalized women with essential health knowledge and resources to enhance their overall well-being and capability for societal participation.

This initiative demonstrates UTM’s commitment to providing targeted, evidence-based women’s access schemes that extend the university’s resources beyond the campus to empower female community members in a sustained and measurable manner.

Source :

https://news.utm.my/2025/01/sri-pulai-sihat-dan-cergas-empowering-women-through-fitness/