Women in STEM Dialogue: Gender and Energy Perspectives from Mongolia to Taiwan
- Webmaster TWiST
- Jun 25
- 5 min read
WSTEM Mongolia in Electrical Engineering & renewable energy --Transnational dialogue from a gender perspective
250619women-in-stem-mongolia-taiwan
Time: 15:00 - 17:00 June 19, 2025Venue: Fembooks 女書店
Organizer: TWiST (The society of Taiwan Women in Science and Technology)
Supervisor: NSTC (National Science and Technology Council, 國科會 )
Transnational Dialogue on Women in STEM and Energy Equity
Dr. Ariunbolor Purvee, President of Women in STEM Mongolia (WSTEM MN), visited Taiwan to participate in the 2025 IEEE IAS Annual Meeting. TWiST took this opportunity to organize a special dialogue on the gender status and development of Mongolia’s engineering sector, particularly focusing on electrical engineering and renewable energy. The event aimed to foster international exchange and collaborative potential between Taiwan and Mongolia from a gendered, transnational perspective.
Chaired by:
Shun-Lien Sung | TWiST Supervisor, INWES VP Conference
Panelists:
Ya-Yu Chiang | Vice Chairperson, CIE-WEN
Shu-Te Hwang | Board Member, Green Advocates Energy Co-Op (綠主張綠電合作社)
Ariunbolor Purvee | President, WSTEM MN
Mongolia’s Coal-Based Energy Sector and the Shift Toward Renewable Power
Dr. Ariunbolor Purvee, an associate professor at the Mongolian University of Science and Technology and full professor at the German-Mongolian Institute for Resources and Technology, provided an overview of Mongolia’s vast geography, modest population (3.5 million), and its unique sociolinguistic and cultural landscape. She noted the country’s ethnic diversity, use of the Russian script, and religious plurality. Mongolia’s higher education system was described as comparable to Taiwan’s, with similarly high literacy rates and ongoing efforts to improve university quality.
Mongolia’s climate poses additional challenges, with winter temperatures dropping to -30°C. The country’s energy infrastructure is still heavily reliant on coal-fired power plants, which supply both electricity and district heating—a critical lifeline during severe winters in Ulaanbaatar. Despite rich coal reserves, renewable energy accounts for only around 10% of Mongolia’s total consumption. Dr. Purvee highlighted the high cost of rural energy transmission, technical incompatibilities with foreign equipment, and grid instability.
Environmental pollution from coal use has resulted in serious public health concerns. Political and economic constraints, including vested interests in maintaining the current system, hinder the shift toward renewables. Dr. Purvee emphasized the need for increased energy efficiency, professional capacity building, and public awareness. She proposed action items such as documenting grid transmission issues, piloting renewable projects, and conducting targeted outreach to urban and rural communities alike.
Women Empowering Energy Transition in Taiwan’s Civil Society
Dr. Shu-Te Hwang, Director of the Green Advocates Electricity Co-Op, shared the story of Taiwan’s grassroots transition to a nuclear-free society—an effort significantly driven by women. She reflected on Taiwan’s final nuclear reactor being shut down on May 17, 2025, a landmark that marked the culmination of decades of community activism.
At the heart of this movement is the Homemakers United Foundation (also known as the Housewives Alliance for the Environment), a women-led organization formed in the late 1980s. This group has long been active in environmental reform, educational campaigns, and social justice. Dr. Hwang noted their work in promoting green consumerism, collective buying, and anti-GMO initiatives—all of which helped lay the foundation for sustainable local economies and climate awareness.
Food-Energy-Care Model: Building Local Resilience Through Women's Cooperatives
The Green Advocates Co-Op operates as a democratically run, collectively owned entity rooted in shared values. Dr. Hwang explained that after a food safety crisis in 1993, the co-op began mobilizing purchasing power to support ethical farmers. In 2001, they established the Taiwan Homemakers United Consumers Co-Op to deepen their connection with producers—organizing farm visits, annual gatherings, store-based conversations, and even emergency financial support for struggling farmers.
They advocate for reduced pesticide use, non-GMO policies, and the promotion of local produce to minimize food mileage. Their partnerships expanded globally when they joined hands with cooperatives in Korea and Japan to form a sister alliance in 1999. Together, they promoted glocal (global + local) education and resilience, signing a Nuclear-Free Declaration in 2012 in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.
Green Energy Innovation: Taiwan’s First Citizen-Led Solar Energy Co-Op
Dr. Hwang shared the creation of the Green Advocates Energy Co-Op in 2016—Taiwan’s first citizen-initiated renewable energy cooperative. The initiative encouraged individuals to become solar investors and community power co-producers. Rooftop solar panels were installed on leased building spaces, allowing everyday citizens to take responsibility for their energy usage.
In 2020, they launched the “Citizen’s RE100” campaign to enable households to offset their carbon footprints through solar investment. By 2025, the cooperative had 383 members, including 3 corporations, with women comprising 67% of total membership. This model exemplifies how women-led FEC (Food, Energy, Care) structures can contribute to long-term sustainability and energy justice.
Engineering for Sustainability: Taiwan’s Female Leaders in Green Manufacturing
The third speaker, Dr. Ya-Yu Chiang, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at National Taiwan University and Deputy Director of the Women’s Committee of the Faculty Union, shared her academic background in engineering and her research interests at the intersection of technology and society.
In 2016, Dr. Chiang participated in the “30th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Disaster” documentation project. Through in-depth interviews with residents still living in the affected area, she gathered firsthand accounts of daily life and environmental changes. This work culminated in a multimedia photography exhibition titled Shadows of Truth, held in Taiwan, which aimed to present the long-term impact of nuclear disasters from a humanities perspective. The project also demonstrated the potential of integrating technological research with social narratives.
Dr. Chiang emphasized that an engineering background should not be limited to technical development alone, but should also embrace sustainability and social responsibility. She pointed out that many female professors in her field are actively involved in green manufacturing and environmental research. This trend highlights the growing presence of women engineers as a critical and action-oriented force in both academia and the broader sustainability movement.
Advancing Gender Diversity in STEM Higher Education
Dr. Chiang also discussed gender representation in academia, particularly in STEM. Women currently make up about 20% of faculty in NTU’s Mechanical Engineering Department—an impressive figure compared to many institutions across Asia. She described the department as a leader in gender balance, regularly cited by visiting universities as a model of inclusive academic culture.
Institutional mechanisms such as gender-sensitive hiring and promotion policies have helped NTU sustain this progress. By contrast, Dr. Chiang noted that other countries and institutions still lag in similar efforts. She also shared personal observations about the continued underrepresentation of women in research leadership roles across the region. National and educational authorities are increasingly aware of these gaps and have begun implementing guidelines to address them.
Collaborative Strategies for Gender and Energy Equity Across Borders
The event concluded with a rich Q&A session, during which participants raised questions about the declining proportion of women scientists in Mongolia (once 40%), the situation of single mothers in STEM, and the country’s rare earth sector. Dr. Purvee and her doctoral students provided detailed insights, enhancing mutual understanding between the two national contexts.
This dialogue illustrated how international collaboration—anchored in gender equity and scientific expertise—can help address energy, environmental, and social challenges. From Mongolia’s need for energy reform to Taiwan’s community-based innovations, the forum showcased the transformative power of women’s leadership and transnational cooperation.
Comments