Gender Roles and Stereotypes about Science Careers Help Explain Women and Men’s Science Pursuits

Abstract

Diverse perspectives in science promote innovation and creativity, and represent the needs of a diverse populace. However, many science fields lack gender diversity. Although fewer women than men pursue careers in physical science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (pSTEM), more women than men pursue careers in behavioral science. The current work measured the relationship between first-year college students' stereotypes about science professions and course completion in science fields over the next 3 years. pSTEM careers were more associated with self-direction and self-promotion (i.e., agency) than with working with and for the betterment of others (i.e., communion). On the flip side, behavioral science careers were associated with communion to a greater degree than with agency. Women completed a lower proportion of pSTEM courses than did men, but this gender disparity disappeared when women perceived high opportunity for communion in pSTEM. Men pursued behavioral science courses to a lesser degree than did women; this disparity did not exist when men perceived ample opportunity for agency in behavioral science. These results suggest highlighting the communal nature of pSTEM and the agentic nature of behavioral science in pre-college settings may promote greater gender diversity across science fields.Science fields in the United States are largely gendered. Although a much larger proportion of men than women pursue physical science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (pSTEM) careers, women outnumber men in behavioral science (e.g., psychology, sociology). For example, in 2012, 24 % of Bachelor's degrees and 25 % of Ph.D. s in pSTEM were awarded to women, compared to 63 % of Bachelor's degrees and 59 % of Ph.D.s awarded to women in behavioral science (National Science Foundation 2015a, b). This trend is also present in the workforce: a 2013 sample of employed scientists indicated 22 % of pSTEM scientists were women compared to 62 % in behavioral science (National Science Foundation 2015d). In biological science, however, women and men appear to be roughly at parity: 59 % of graduates with a B.S., 53 % of individuals with a Ph.D. in biological science fields, and 48 % of professionals in biological science are women (National Science Foundation 2015a, b, d).Gender disparities across science fields are suboptimal for a number of reasons. First, diversity in the workplace is known to foster innovation; a diversity of experiences and perspective-taking yields greater opportunity for creativity (Hoever et al. 2012;Leung et al. 2008;Woolley et al. 2010). Second, a homogenous set of prerogatives at the decision table leaves non-represented voices unheard so that the needs of many are ignored. For example, early voice activated systems developed by computer scientists only worked for men because women's voices were literally unheard during the development (Camp 2012;Margolis and Fisher 2002). Finally, science professions systematically differ in their level of cultural status and financial reward. Whereas ...

The Status of Women in STEM in Higher Education: A Review of the Literature 2007–2017

“…Stereotypes about people who are interested in STEM abound in popular culture, making it one of the largest barriers for women (Moss-Racusin, Molenda, and Cramer 2015;Ryan 2014). Women in STEM face gender stereotypes at both community colleges (Kincaid 2015) and universities (Schneider 2010;Stout, Grunberg, and Ito 2016). Because of the long-standing sociocultural stereotypes regarding successful cisgender white males and academic STEM disciplines, women face a phenomenon known as stereotype threat (Chase 2012;Corbett and Hill 2015).…”

How Can Universities Best Encourage Women to Major in Information Systems?

“…A third explanation, which we derived from previous research, suggests that women think negatively about careers in technology and that this thinking is reinforced over time (Master et al, 2016;Stout et al, 2016). An experiment conducted with high school students in the US found that female students reacted more positively to computer classrooms that exhibited fewer artifacts associated with traditional computer science (i.e., Star Trek posters, stray equipment parts, science fiction books, video games) and incorporated more neutral objects (i.e., art and nature posters, water bottles, general magazines, plants), which resulted in their being more willing to take a high school class in computer science (Master et al, 2016).…”

“…Over the last two decades, many studies have queried women about their interest in technology-related disciplines using surveys, focus groups, and direct interviews (Beyer, 2008(Beyer, , 2014Buschor, Berweger, Frei, & Kappler, 2014;Cory, Parzinger, & Reeves, 2006;Geyfman, Force, & Davis, 2016;Joshi & Schmidt, 2006;Merhout, Havelka, & Rajkumar, 2016;Stout, Grunberg, & Ito, 2016;Wang et al, 2015;Zhang, 2007). These studies have found that parental influence, role models, stereotypes, knowledge of the field, influence of peers, self-efficacy, and external encouragement are important factors that affect women's interest in IS.…”

“…These studies have found that parental influence, role models, stereotypes, knowledge of the field, influence of peers, self-efficacy, and external encouragement are important factors that affect women's interest in IS. Recent studies that have examined implicit stereotypes to understand whether people implicitly relate technology to gender and also whether implicit gender identity predicts female interest in IS have found that implicit gender identity may guide "career choice" (Serenko & Turel, 2016;Stout et al, 2016;Zitelny, Shalom, & Bar-Anan, 2017).…”

“…The belief that working in IS is a masculine endeavor (Cory et al, 2006;Fuller et al, 2013;Joshi & Schmidt, 2006;Lang, 2012;Sax et al, 2017;Serenko & Turel, 2016;Stout et al, 2016;Zitelny et al, 2017). These studies found that both men and women attribute such "masculine" characteristics of IS careers as isolation from other people, focus on self-promotion rather than group communion, lack of empathy, and aggression.…”