In most Arab states in the Middle East, there are more women than men pursuing university degrees, according to the United Nations. This does not translate to the same percentages in the workforce after graduation.

In Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, nearly two thirds of all university students are women. They are making an especially strong showing in Science, Technology, Environmental, and Mathematics (STEM) areas. While this represents a higher ratio than in the West, the picture is very different after graduation. In Qatar, for example, women make up less than 12% of the workforce.

Dima Dabbous-Sensenig, Director of the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World at the Lebanese American University, told the CNN it’s probably because not all women go to university to receive degrees to work with. For many of them, university is the only social outlet in their conservative societies where they can mix and mingle with friends freely.

While boys have more freedoms in the Middle East, girls often go to universities to enjoy similar freedoms and make friends. Others continue their university education so they can find a ‘better husband’ or to fill up their time before marriage, argued Dabbous-Sensenig. “”Lack of protection for women at work and harassment are among the factors that keep women out of the workplace,” she told the CNN.

However, Bayt.com, the largest recruitment portal in the Middle East, has recently conducted a survey which suggests that women are playing a more active role in the workforce lately and climbing to higher managerial jobs.

According to the report, 59% of women in the workforce feel they are treated fairly and receive equal opportunity to their male counterparts, compared to only 24% feeling a bias against them. Over 40% feel they stand a lower chance of getting promoted in their work than their male counterparts, however.

While more women than men are pursuing STEM education in university, even reaching a ratio of 2:1 in some faculties, Mehrunisa Qayyum, founder of PITAPOLICY Consulting, argues in a commentary piece on the Huffington Post that they are not influential in STEM fields. A list of Top 100 Most Powerful Arab Women published by Arabian Business in 2012 included only four women working in the STEM areas: two in science, and two in technology – one of them based in the US.

“I believe that things will change gradually,” Dabbous-Sensenig told CNN. “The more women are highly educated, some of them will become motivated, independent young women who will get good jobs. Thirty years ago they didn’t have that option.”