Body Projects of Young Women of Color in Physics: Intersections of Gender, Race, and Science

Ong, Maria

doi:10.1525/sp.2005.52.4.593

Cited by 330 publications

(324 citation statements)

References 49 publications

(51 reference statements)

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“…In US academic physics, for example, the cultural image of the white male scientist intensifies pressure on women of color, who frequently face skepticism about their competence and belonging (Ong 2005). …”

Section: Micro-level Explanationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Segregation, Stereotypes, and STEM

2018

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Scientific, technical, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) occupations are strongholds of gender segregation in the contemporary United States. While many Americans regard this segregation as natural and inevitable, closer examination reveals a great deal of variability in the gendering of STEM fields across time, space, and demographic groups. This article assesses how different theoretical accounts accord with the available evidence on the gender composition of scientific and technical fields. We find most support for accounts that allow for a dynamic interplay between individual-level traits and the broader sociocultural environments in which they develop. The existing evidence suggests, in particular, that Western cultural stereotypes about the nature of STEM work and STEM workers and about the intrinsic qualities of men and women can be powerful drivers of individual aptitudes, aspirations, and affinities. We offer an illustrative catalog of stereotypes that support women's STEM-avoidance and men's STEM-affinity, and we conclude with some thoughts on policy implications.Keywords: gender; STEM; segregation; stereotypes; culture; work; occupations; science; inequality For more than three decades, American educators, policy makers, activists, and business leaders have engaged in research and policy initiatives to increase the presence of women and other underrepresented groups in scientific, technical, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) occupations and fields of study. These efforts have been motivated by interests in broadening opportunities in lucrative, high-status occupations and in ameliorating acute STEM labor shortages that are believed to threaten national prosperity, private profits and the public welfare.Despite wide-ranging research and policy efforts, STEM occupations remain strongholds of gender segregation in the contemporary United States. Women made up nearly half of the US labor market in 2015, but only 28% of all scientific and technical workers. Within STEM, gender segregation is also very strong, with women comprising 48% of life scientists and 60% of social scientists, but only 28% of physical scientists and 15% of engineers (NSF 2018, Appendices 3-12). 1 While some fields have integrated over time, others have become more segregated. Women's share of US bachelor's degrees in computer science, for instance, declined from 28% to 18% between (NSF 2018.While many Americans understand men's dominance of scientific and technical work as natural and universal, the gender typing of STEM fields varies a great deal across space, time, and socio-demographic groups. Recent comparative studies have shown that scientific degree recipients are disproportionately female in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Romania, and Georgia, for example, and that the gender gap in children's STEM aspirations is larger in more affluent societies (Charles 2011a(Charles , 2017 1 Even within engineering women and men tend to do different work: about 10% of mechanical and electrical engineers are women, compared to 20...

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Section: Micro-level Explanationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Segregation, Stereotypes, and STEM

2018

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“…Being the only woman has been argued to be unlikely to allow for "invisibility", but instead attracts the "wrong" kind of attention [75]. The issue of standing out, in a way that might be undesirable, could be amplified for those from minority ethnic groups, who are likely to struggle even more in establishing the "ordinariness" that would enable them to find a comfortable fit with the science community [76]. In Malone and Barabino's [18] study, the women who felt they were "the only one" in the science laboratories experienced a form of invisibility, albeit in a way of being ignored, excluded, and kept out of the loop for being regarded as unequal members of the scientific community, due to their different gender and ethnic/cultural background.…”

Section: Discursive Strategy One: Rendering Gender Invisiblementioning

confidence: 99%

Sciencey Girls: Discourses Supporting Working-Class Girls to Identify with Science

Godec

2018

Education Sciences

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Abstract:Women from working class and some ethnic minority backgrounds continue to be underrepresented in science, particularly in areas such as physical sciences and engineering. Many find it difficult to see science as something that is "for them", which then has implications for their learning and participation in science. In this paper, I discuss findings from a U.K.-based qualitative study with 15 working-class girls, aged 11 to 13, from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Data were collected over the course of one academic year, through interviews and discussion groups with the girls and interviews with their science teachers, and analysed through a post-structural gender lens. The paper foregrounds five science-identifying girls, who negotiated their identification and engagement with science through the following discursive strategies: (i) rendering gender invisible, (ii) drawing attention to the presence of women in science, (iii) reframing "science people" as caring and nurturing, and (iv) cultural discourses of desirability of science. The findings contribute to the understanding of how working class girls-who are often "othered" and constructed as "unintelligible" within the dominant discursive regime of prototypical science-find identification with science possible. The paper discusses the affordances and challenges of each discursive strategy.

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“…Not all African American students respond to stereotypes with a drop in academic performance. Many are resilient and use the stereotypes as a means of selfencouragement, agency, and stepping stones for success (Ellington, 2006;Ong, 2002Ong, , 2005. That does not diminish the reality of stereotype threat.…”

Section: What Does a Scientist Look Like?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Navigating STEM-worlds

Sparks

2017

Journal for Multicultural Education

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Abstract:Knowing that female students of color are underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is not enough. This paper will discuss the need for an intersectionality lens when considering how to retain talented female students of color in university STEM programs. Researchers and practitioners must focus on how students develop their social, academic, and intellectual identities as they become a scientist, doctor, or engineer. This includes the development of their core identity--perceptions they have of themselves as well as perceptions of those with whom they work and interact. One of the main obstacles researchers and practitioners face includes how to help students adapt to the norms of STEM-worlds (classrooms and work environments related to STEM) as they proceed through the path to becoming a STEM professional. The paper will also discuss the term intersectional trap. This is defined as the act of saying blanket statements to describe a race or group of individuals without considering variations of experience within the population. The paper will end with recommendations for research focusing on qualitative studies that explore the lived experiences of students as they form their STEM identities.

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Body Projects of Young Women of Color in Physics: Intersections of Gender, Race, and Science

Cited by 330 publications

References 49 publications

Segregation, Stereotypes, and STEM

Segregation, Stereotypes, and STEM

Sciencey Girls: Discourses Supporting Working-Class Girls to Identify with Science

Navigating STEM-worlds

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