Reflections on gender disparity in STEM higher education programs: Perspectives and strategies

Abstract

STEM has been broadly perceived as a vital driver of sustainable development worldwide. However, women remain underrepresented in STEM fields despite decades of effort to bridge the gender gap. The purpose of this article is to understand of the underlying factors that contribute to gender disparity in STEM and suggest effective interventions. Specifically, I seek to address the following questions: what factors contribute to gender disparity in graduate STEM program? What strategies can be adopted to address the issue?This paper examines fifty articles published from 2006-2016 that had women or gender and/or science as a central part of their studies to identify institutional and socio-cultural perspectives used to explain the situation and identify strategies that have been used to overcome the problem. Findings suggest that the factors that contribute to women underrepresentation in STEM are complex and numerous, calling for multi-faceted strategies to move the field forward.

Investigating the challenges faced by female students in STEM courses: case study of a traditional South African University

“…Studies also suggest that women find the STEM environment intimidating, competitive and lacking in empathy; hence the tendency for more women to show interest in the social sciences where they are of direct service to people (Norgbey, 2017;Guy & Boards, 2019). The personal traits of conformance, nurturing and family commitment are some of the reasons advanced for the paucity of women in the STEM fields (Cech & Blair-Loy, 2019).…”

“…Parents tend to overemphasise their sons' abilities and underate their daughters' abilities in Mathematics (Gomez et al, 2020). Such parentals' influence on their children's career choices is important and should be considered since they give advice, emotional support, and financial provision to their children with mothers especially playing a critical role in their daughters' career choices (Norgbey, 2017).…”

“…In another vein, the global development divide is widening, thus hindering global competitiveness and economic advancement (Norgbey, 2017). There is a limited number of women who enrol for STEM programmes as compared to a high number of females in humanities and social science specialisations.…”

“…Patriarchy and culture negatively affect the STEM curriculum and teaching and learning styles and reinforce the gender gap in higher education and STEM programmes (Norgbey, 2017;Matete, 2022). Suggested strategies to combat gender inequality are gender mainstreaming, gender affirmative action, capabilities-based policies and practices, and awareness.…”

“…The lack of resources and adequate STEM skills can be insufficient for trainee scientists to interact and compete with peers worldwide (Okeke et al, 2017). To meaningfully contribute to global development in STEM fields, gender inequality must be resolved in African universities as well as in the global community at large (Norgbey, 2017). The exclusion of Africa in global participation due to the shortage of leading scientists contributes to an even greater gap in the underrepresentation of women in STEM (Okeke et al, 2017).…”