Venus, Mars, and Math: Gender, Societal Affluence, and Eighth Graders’ Aspirations for STEM

Abstract

The author explores how the gender gap in aspirations for scientific, technical, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) work changes with societal affluence. Over-time data on cohorts of eighth graders in 32 countries reveal that aspirations for mathematically related work become more gender differentiated as societal affluence grows. This relationship holds controlling for students’ social class backgrounds, mathematical achievement, and affinity for school, and it is not explained by cross-national differences in the economic integration of women, gender stereotyping of science, or Internet access. Observed patterns of gender segregation reflect more than just women’s greater freedom to indulge tastes for non-STEM work in affluent societies; tastes are themselves more gendered in these contexts.

Segregation, Stereotypes, and STEM

“…That is, people may choose gender-conforming occupations because they believe, perhaps erroneously, that they will be more skilled at this work or enjoy it more (Correll 2004;Charles 2017). These biased self-understandings are powerful because they can shape occupational aspirations, and behaviors even in the absence of direct structural constraints, discrimination, or individual-level socialization.…”

“…Cech (2013) finds that college students are more likely to later choose female-dominated occupations if they describe themselves in culturally feminine terms, such as emotional, unsystematic, and people-oriented. Comparative research suggests that this gender-typing of career aspirations is especially pronounced in affluent, "postmaterialist" societies (Charles and Bradley 2009;Charles 2017). In these contexts, concerns about existential security are less salient in career choices and cultural narratives emphasize "following your passions" and "doing what you love" (Inglehart and Welzel 2005;Tokumitsu 2015).…”

“…Most social scientists view supply-side explanations as inadequate-among other things, because the gender typing of occupational roles varies strongly across time and space, and over the individual life course (Jacobs 1989;Tolley 2003;Penner 2008;Grier 2005;Charles 2011aCharles , 2017 and because measurable differences between men and women are too small to account for the extreme patterns of segregation observed in many occupations and workplaces. Even when men and women differ on average on some aptitude or personality trait, between-gender differences are typically much smaller than within-gender differences, and the size of observed gender gaps frequently vary by context or disappear when men and women have the same status (Epstein 1988;Ridgeway and Smith-Lovin 1999;Eagly 1995;Hyde 2005;Stoet and Geary 2018).…”

“…In other respects, however, inequality has proven to be highly resilient in the industrial West. Today some of the most gender-segregated STEM workforces are found in highly affluent, reputably gender-progressive societies (Charles 2011b(Charles , 2017Stoet and Geary 2018).…”

“…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% of civil engineers (ibid. ).…”