US Embassy organises Women's Day forum

KUALA LUMPUR: The United States Embassy organised a forum titled Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in conjunction with International Women's Day 2018.
US ambassador Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir (pix) said the programme aims to celebrate the success of Malaysian women in the field of STEM and to inspire others to follow in their footsteps.
Lakhdir said the US celebrates Women's History Month every March to honour courageous women who have stepped forward to fight inequality and to champion causes for the benefit of society.
"International Women's Day and this month represent an opportunity for us men and women together, to remember those who fought for us and us," Lakhdir said when opening the forum held at the Universiti Malaya library here.
International Women's Day is celebrated globally on March 8 to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
Lakhdir said International Women's Day started in the United States in 1909 where the focus then was about women's working rights, particularly in the garment industry.
The theme for this year's International Women's Day is #PressforProgress, which aims to unite friends, colleagues and whole communities to think, act and be gender inclusive.