Since you're Malaysian, I think I understand your frustration. Culturally I think women are seen to be better (or at least better suited) to things that require nurturing and caring for others, e.g. nursing and teaching. Men tend to be seen as more dynamic and out-of-the-home types, hence the way they are seen to be more suitable for engineering and law-related jobs and so on. However, even in Malaysia things are changing quite a bit now I think. Women are more likely to pursue their studies and work in many 'against the norm' professions, like being a researcher in scientific fields. The key to this development, I believe, is education. However there are other cultural considerations to think about, e.g. since we are quite a community-based society, families are quite central to our development. Having both parents work full-time may be of some concern to some people, so that would most probably affect what you do and how much time you spend on it if you have kids. I guess for many people it's a matter of priority... if you have a family, what would you sacrifice: the wealth of your family, your intellectual pursuits, your interests, the condition of your family/children, your energy/sanity etc? :)

Here in America, a woman can do anything she sets her mind to do! There is still sexual prejugdice, but we have come a long way. The biggest hurdle women here still need to overcome is that a woman with the same education and same job as a man will still make less than her counterpart.