A Model of Threatening Academic Environments Predicts Women STEM Majors’ Self-Esteem and Engagement in STEM

The Impact of Benevolent Sexism on Women's Career Growth: A Moderated Serial Mediation Model

This study investigates how benevolent sexism impedes women's career growth, focusing on the mediating roles of self-esteem and emotional exhaustion and the moderating role of career development strategies. Using a three-wave, time-lagged survey, data from 410 female employees across various industries in China were analyzed with SPSS 24.0 and Mplus 8.3. Results indicate that benevolent sexism negatively influences career growth via reduced self-esteem and increased emotional exhaustion. Moreover, career development strategies mitigate this adverse effect, weakening the relationship between benevolent sexism and career growth. Higher levels of career development strategies lessen the detrimental impact of benevolent sexism on women's professional progress. These findings enrich Cognitive-Affective Personality System theory by clarifying the mechanisms through which benevolent sexism undermines career development. They also highlight the practical significance of adopting robust career strategies to promote workplace gender equality and offer empirical insights into the broader implications of benevolent sexism on women's career advancement.

Exploring the association between mental health climate and depression: the protective role of positive mental health and sense of belonging among Black college students

Objective: To explore relationships between mental health climate, positive mental health, sense of belonging, and depression among a U.S. national sample of Black college students. Participants: 1303 Black undergraduate and graduate students from 15 colleges and universities throughout the U.S. Methods: Data were from the 2018-2019 Healthy Minds Study. Analysis included hierarchical regression models. Results: A more positive perception of mental health climate and higher levels of both positive mental health and sense of belonging were significantly associated with lower levels of depression. Significant interactions existed between positive mental health and climate and sense of belonging and climate with buffering effects being most pronounced for students reporting high levels of positive mental health. Conclusion: Black college students' perceptions of an institution's mental health climate are associated with psychological outcomes. College health stakeholders should consider the buffering effects of protective factors on mental health when designing initiatives for Black college students.

Parental and peer influence on STEM career persistence: From higher education to first job

This article investigates social influences that drive gender-specific differences in the degree of persistence individuals exhibit in regard to pursuing science, mathematics, engineering and technology (STEM), both as a field of study and as an occupation. It covers individuals' careers from entry into higher education to entry into the labor market. Following a life course perspective, I ask the following questions: (1) How stable are preferences regarding STEM subjects and occupations throughout young adulthood? (2) Are significant social ties, such as relations with friends and family members, factors that affect individuals' persistence in pursuing a STEM career throughout higher education and at entry into the labor market? Based on longitudinal data from the student cohort of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), Starting Cohort 5 (SC5), I find that mothers who have a STEM occupation encourage their daughters to choose a STEM career when the latter enter higher education, but they do not encourage them to graduate in a STEM field or to choose a STEM occupation when they enter the labor market. Conversely, social factors contribute stronger to the persistence of men: fathers who have a STEM occupation promote sons choosing to pursue a STEM field, and to persist in such a field. Also, I find that support from friends and parents is especially important for men's persistence in pursuing STEM subjects during higher education.

Cosmetic patent and female invention

Majority customers of cosmetics are female. Would this imply a high proportion of inventors of cosmetics technology is female? Would the inventor's gender be related to the characteristics and quality of corresponding patent? This study tries to identify manifestation of gender equity in cosmetics technology in terms of patent application and grant, technical characteristics, and its performance. We apply topic modeling, zero-inflated Poisson regression, and survival analysis to patents related to cosmetics that were applied to the United States Patent and Trademark Office from 1970 to 2016. The results show that women's participation in cosmetic inventions is becoming active and has experienced many changes in technical characteristics, but in terms of performance, it is still sluggish. This study is expected to contribute to deepening our understanding about gender issues in technology development.

Mentorship for Transfer Student Success in STEM Research: Mentor Approaches and Reflections

Mentorship has been widely recognized as an effective means to promote student learning and engagement in undergraduate research experiences. However, little work exists for understanding different mentors' perceived approaches to mentorship, including mentorship of students from backgrounds and educational trajectories not well represented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Transfer students, in particular, face unique trajectories in their pursuit of research opportunities, yet few studies investigate how mentors describe their approaches to supporting these students. Using semistructured interviews, this study examines how mentors approach mentoring students from diverse backgrounds as research trainees, with an emphasis on transfer students. First, using phenomenography as an analytical approach, we identified four categories describing variations in how mentors reflected upon or accounted for the transfer student identity in their approaches. We find that research mentors vary in their understanding and exposure to the transfer student identity and may have preconceived notions of the transfer student experience. Second, we present vignettes to illustrate how mentors' approaches to the transfer student identity may relate or diverge from their general approaches to mentoring students from different backgrounds and identities. The emerging findings have implications for developing effective mentorship strategies and training mentors to support transfer students.

Student perceptions of inclusive pedagogy in undergraduate STEM classrooms

In university STEM classrooms, the incorporation of inclusive practices improves student performance, decreases disparities in the academic success of underrepresented students, and increases student retention and persistence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs. Inclusive pedagogical practices include effective instructional choices like active learning, providing rubrics, and other strategies that have been shown to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Additionally, explicitly inclusive practices such as addressing microaggressions and sharing pronouns can promote a sense of belonging for students. While a plethora of literature has shown these impacts and faculty have access to resources and training about inclusive pedagogy, we were interested in whether students are noticing these practices and how student identities impact their observations of instructional practices. We surveyed undergraduates (n = 74) from diverse STEM disciplines at a large land-grant university regarding their observation of 11 different inclusive pedagogical practices. Overall, students observed inclusive instructional practices more often than they observed explicitly diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-related practices. For explicitly DEI-related practices, white students observed more practices than Students of Color. This suggests that more work needs to be done to train faculty in explicit DEI-related practices, especially with the goal of supporting Students of Color who have been historically excluded from STEM.

Neural responses to gender-based microaggressions in academic medicine

Gender-based microaggressions have been associated with persistent disparities between women and men in academia. Little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying those often subtle and unintentional yet detrimental behaviors. Here, we assessed the neural responses to gender-based microaggressions in 28 early career faculty in medicine (N = 16 female, N = 12 male sex) using fMRI. Participants watched 33 videos of situations demonstrating gender-based microaggressions and control situations in academic medicine. Video topics had been previously identified through real-life anecdotes about microaggression from women faculty and were scripted and reenacted using professional actors. Primary voxel-wise analyses comparing group differences in activation elucidated a significant group by condition interaction in a right-lateralized cluster across the frontal (inferior and middle frontal gyri, frontal pole, precentral gyrus, postcentral gyrus) and parietal lobes (supramarginal gyrus, angular gyrus). Whereas women faculty exhibited reduced activation in these regions during the microaggression relative to the control condition, the opposite was true for men. Posthoc analyses showed that these patterns were significantly associated with the degree to which participants reported feeling judged for their gender in academic medicine. Lastly, secondary exploratory ROI analyses showed significant between-group differences in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and inferior frontal gyrus. Women activated these two regions less in the microaggression condition compared to the control condition, whereas men did not. These findings indicate that the observation of gender-based microaggressions results in a specific pattern of neural reactivity in women early career faculty.

Are gender-science stereotypes barriers for women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics? Exploring when, how, and to whom in an experimentally-controlled setting

Based on Social Cognitive Career Theory principles, the present study sought to investigate whether stereotype threat experiences could act as a barrier and reduce the persistence of women in math-intensive activities. More specifically, we assessed whether the experimental activation of stereotypes about women's lower math capabilities affected the performance, persistence, and self-selected difficulty of engineering students in a math task which required sustained effort. We also evaluated the relationships between these effects and the participants' pre-testing gender-science stereotypes and math self-concept. A sample of 340 engineering students (175 and 165 self-identified as males and females, respectively) were recruited and randomly assigned to a control (Con) or stereotype threat (StA) condition to form four similarly sized groups. All participants rated their self-concept in four academic domains (math, chemistry, physics, and coding), completed the gender-science Implicit Association Test, and a "reading comprehension task" that served to promote the stereotype threat manipulation immediately before facing a modified version of the Math Effort Task (M-MET). We observed that, in the control condition, M-MET performance, self-selected difficulty, and persistence were similar in female and male participants, independent of their gender-science implicit stereotypes but correlated to their math self-concept scores. In contrast, the StA condition triggered opposite effects in female and male students, so they showed decreased/enhanced M-MET performance and self-selected difficulty, respectively. This experimental condition also resulted in enhanced persistence of the male students without affecting the number of trials completed by female students. These effects were correlated with the strength of the participants' gender-science implicit stereotypes but not with their math self-concept scores. In fact, as revealed by finer-grain analyses, stereotype threat only had a significant impact on individuals harboring stereotypical gender-science implicit associations. Therefore, it is concluded that: (1) stereotypes can promote differences between male and female engineering students in their performance, self-confidence, and persistence in math-related activities; (2) These effects seem to be more prominent in individuals implicitly perceiving science as a masculine domain. The relevance of these findings to explain women's enhanced abandonment rates of math-intensive studies is discussed.

Stability of Vocational Interests During University Studies

Abstract: Students’ vocational interests can be described by Holland’s theory of occupational choice. Holland distinguishes six interest dimensions here: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional. Although these attributes are relatively stable during adolescence, their stability increases dramatically during university studies. Because vocational interests are often a factor in career counseling and the choice of what to study, it is essential to investigate the extent to which they develop during the first years of college. This study examines the NEPS first-year student cohort to investigate the stability of students’ interests and aspirations. The paper analyzes 2,442 male and 3,435 female students who studied within one of six major study clusters and provided data about their vocational interests at Wave 1 (study entry) and Wave 9 (about 4.5 years later close to the end their studies). The study’s results show strong and highly significant correlations for all interest dimensions, as well as a high stability of students’ aspirations. The correlations were strongest for artistic interests and weakest for conventional interests and were distinguishable between most dimensions. Furthermore, the analyses showed notable differences with respect to gender and field of study. Further analyses went beyond a variable-centered towards a person-centered approach showing that students with a stable interest vector also displayed higher profile correlations and a higher person-environment fit. The analysis shows that 28% of the sample are still developing their interests. This indicates notable adaption processes during university time that should be factored into course design, career counseling, and further research.

Predictors of UK postgraduate researcher attendance behaviours and mental health-related attrition intention

High rates of postgraduate researchers (PGRs) terminate their studies early. This attrition can have detrimental personal consequences, and results in a loss of productivity, and research and innovation for the higher education sector and society as a whole. PGRs are vulnerable to the experience of mental health problems; a factor that appears to be increasing attrition amongst students in the UK. However, investigation of the determinants of problems with PGRs' attendance and influencing intention to discontinue their studies is rare. Here, we consider the relative predictive validity of a set of putative predictors (mental health symptoms, demographic, occupational, psychological, social, and relational) of attendance behaviours (absenteeism, presenteeism, mental health-related intermission) and early attrition intention amongst UK PGRs. Depression, anxiety, and suicidality predicted attendance behaviours and greater attrition intention. Individual demographic and occupational factors predicted all outcomes. Psychological, social and relational factors had less predictive validity, although individual variables in these conceptual clusters did significantly predict some outcomes. Our results suggest that interventions to reduce high rates of mental health problems are likely to improve attendance behaviours, and reduce the extent to which PGRs intermit or consider ending their PhD studies for mental health-related reasons. Initiatives designed to improve supervisory relationships and reduce loneliness may also reduce absenteeism, intermission and attrition intention.

Undergraduates’ pSTEM identity and motivation in relation to gender- and race-based perceived representation, stereotyped beliefs, and implicit associations

Women and underrepresented minoritized (URM) persons remain marginalized in physical science, technology, engineering, and math (pSTEM). Relative to non-URM men, URM women may experience a double disadvantage based on their gender and race whereby they observe few same-gender and few same-race role models in pSTEM while additionally internalizing stereotypes linking pSTEM with non-URM men. Our hypothesized model was partly supported in a sample of undergraduates ( N = 1,068; 68% women, 44% URM). First, perceiving same-gender or same-race pSTEM role models predicted lower explicit stereotypes among women and URM individuals regarding gender and race, respectively. Second, explicit and implicit associations linking pSTEM with men and White/Asian persons predicted (a) lower pSTEM identity among women and URM students and (b) higher identity among men and non-URM students. Finally, both implicit and explicit pSTEM identity positively predicted expectancy–value beliefs.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, tell me that I have succeeded at it all: Self-esteem and the defensive mechanisms against failure

Students face frequent formal and informal tests, both in the academic context and social life. On each of these occasions, they risk falling short of their own or others’ expectations. Facing failure is a psychological challenge, and people can react with defensive strategies, which may have negative consequences. Here we investigated the role of self-esteem as a possible buffer against these defensive strategies. Previous research has demonstrated that, in the face of failure, individuals with discrepant (fragile: high explicit and low implicit, or damaged: high implicit and low explicit) self-esteem are more likely to engage in defensive mechanisms than individuals with consistent implicit and explicit self-esteem. Two studies investigate the relationship between implicit and explicit self-esteem and two defensive strategies against the threat of failure: subjective overachievement and retroactive excuses. In Study 1 (N = 176 high school students), we find an association between fragile self-esteem and subjective overachievement. In Study 2 (N = 101 university students), damaged self-esteem is related to the increased use of retroactive excuses as a form of self-serving bias. These results add to the growing body of evidence documenting the maladaptive nature of fragile and damaged self-esteem.

Academic Satisfaction of Women Students of Color in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: Roles of Discrimination, Proactive Personality, and Critical Consciousness

Underrepresentation of women and students of color has been a longstanding issue in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The present study examined factors that contribute to academic satisfaction among 585 women college students of color ( Mage = 21.42, SDage = 3.25; nBlack = 174, nLatina = 171, nAsian = 240), based on the Social Cognitive Career Theory satisfaction model. Experiences of discrimination was selected as an environmental obstacle and proactive personality as a person input in the model. In addition, critical consciousness was included as a personal resource variable. Multigroup measurement invariance tests and multigroup structural equation modeling were conducted to examine the racial/ethnic differences in constructs and their interrelationships. The findings showed that discrimination, proactive personality, and critical consciousness contributed to academic satisfaction via self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and goal progress. Theoretical, clinical, and institutional implications are discussed in light of the findings. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.

I am done with this! Women dropping out of engineering majors

Women are still underrepresented in STEM careers (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). One of the possible drivers behind this gender gap in the labour market is the female dropout from STEM education. The causes of the gender differences in the persistence of pursuing STEM studies have been explained by multiple factors related to interest and resolution in this type of career. The goal of the present research is to study the Engineering persistence gender gap in higher education by exploring the main factors underlying the leakage in the pipeline of Engineering fields. Our study reports the results of 34 qualitative in-depth interviews where internal barriers, stereotypes and external obstacles are assessed by women who have left their university degrees, compared with men who have withdrawn and women who have persisted. Results from the content analysis suggest that the undermining of persistence in Engineering fields is related to factors such as the chilly and hostile environment in classes or the workload from an excessively demanding curriculum. Other factors affecting women’s withdrawal are the lack of role models and the perceived incongruity between the female gender role and STEM roles in society, leading to a weakening of female students’ self-efficacy and eroding their sense of belongingness, even making them consider dropping out of their Engineering degree. These findings provide information for the design of future STEM interventions aimed to enhance women’s persistence in STEM university studies.

Mathematics Anxiety and Self-Efficacy of Mexican Engineering Students: Is There Gender Gap?

Studies have reported that there is a gender disparity wherein women do not study equally to men in bachelor’s degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) areas, although they lead the race of having a better terminal efficiency rate in higher education. This research explores engineering students’ math anxiety and math self-efficacy levels, aiming to determine if there is a gender gap for this specific population. Data were collected from 498 students using adapted items from existing surveys. These items were translated to Spanish, and validity tests were used to establish content validity and reliability. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to determine possible differences between male and female math anxiety and math self-efficacy levels. Male engineering students reported higher self-efficacy and lower math anxiety levels, and this difference was shown to be significant according to the MANOVA results. Findings of this research could help engineering educators to better understand how their students feel when they are practicing and performing math-related activities and what type of strategies could be designed when aiming to ameliorate female students’ math anxiety feelings.

In Their Footsteps or Shadow? Gender Differences in Choosing a STEM Major as a Function of Sibling Configuration and Older Sibling’s Gender and Math Ability

Although the association between siblings’ compositional characteristics and educational performance has been extensively studied, the question of whether the features of a sibling group are related to substantive gendered educational preferences has not been examined. Our analysis of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort (NLSY-79) Mothers and Children Files (N = 1545; 57% young women; 22% STEM major) showed that siblings’ compositional characteristics matter for STEM major preferences in college, but only for young women. Our findings indicated that women were more likely to prefer a STEM major if they were raised in smaller sibling groups, in male sibling group dominance, and if they had an older sister with high math achievement. These results are in line with the resource dilution approach; they shed light on the effects of being in a normative male-role sibling group climate; and they suggest that gendered outcomes are shaped by the interplay of role modeling and same-gender competitive stimulation. We also found that for young men, their preference for majoring in a STEM field was mostly driven by their own math ability. These findings suggest that socialization experiences that operate on the sibling level play a crucial role in whether girls become interested in and pursue “gender-atypical” educational choices. Our findings also underscore the need to differentiate these theoretical approaches by gender, particularly when applied to gendered outcomes such as STEM career trajectories.

"Where will I belong more?": The role of belonging comparisons between STEM fields in high school girls' STEM interest

In trying to understand women’s underrepresentation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), most existing research focuses on one STEM-field or collapses across all STEM-fields. However, these fields differ vastly in female representation: women tend to be most strongly underrepresented in technological and computer science university majors and to a lesser extent in mathematics and chemistry, while they are less underrepresented in biological sciences. To understand this variability, we examine how girls in the process of making higher education choices compare different STEM-fields to each other. We draw upon dimensional comparison theory, which argues that educational motivation involves intra-individual comparisons of achievement across school subjects. However, previous research has shown that a focus on achievement in STEM is not enough, anticipated belonging in a STEM-field plays a pivotal role in interest in pursuing that field. Consistent with this, we examined participants’ comparisons of anticipated belonging across STEM-fields. A sample of 343 high school girls in STEM-focused university tracks completed a survey on their anticipated belonging and interest in pursuing different STEM majors. Latent Profile Analysis resulted in 3 profiles, showing different belonging comparison patterns across STEM-fields. Examining these comparisons—both within and across profiles—showed how girls felt pushed away from certain STEM-fields and pulled toward others. The findings suggest that for interest in pursuing specific STEM-fields it is not just about the level of anticipated belonging within that STEM-field, but just as much about the level of anticipated belonging in comparison to another STEM-field.

Critical Examination Using Business Intelligence on the Gender Gap in Information Technology in Brazil

In the early 1990s, cyberfeminism emerged as an area of knowledge to discuss the connection between gender and technology. According to UNESCO, women are underrepresented in the field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and less than a third of women worldwide work in scientific research and development. However, this number has grown and this reality is constantly changing. In this context, using business intelligence techniques, this study analyzes data from the computer and information and communication technology market to characterize the impact of the performance of women in these areas. It is expected to show that this performance in the highlighted fields is still a challenge in Brazil. Based on this hypothesis, results indicates that public policies must be focused on the base, i.e., to encourage young women to work in STEM areas. This study could encourage policymakers to find solutions to the challenges presented in this research.

Gender inequality in academia: Problems and solutions for women faculty in STEM

Recently there is widespread interest in women's underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); however, progress toward gender equality in these fields is slow. More alarmingly, these gender disparities worsen when examining women's representation within STEM departments in academia. While the number of women receiving postgraduate degrees has increased in recent years, the number of women in STEM faculty positions remains largely unchanged. One explanation for this lack of progress toward gender parity is negative and pervasive gender stereotypes, which may facilitate hiring discrimination and reduce opportunities for women's career advancement. Women in STEM also have lower social capital (e.g., support networks), limiting women's opportunities to earn tenure and learn about grant funding mechanisms. Women faculty in STEM may also perceive their academic climate as unwelcoming and threatening, and report hostility and uncomfortable tensions in their work environments, such as sexual harassment and discrimination. Merely the presence of gender-biased cues in physical spaces targeted toward men (e.g., "geeky" décor) can foster a sense of not belonging in STEM. We describe the following three factors that likely contribute to gender inequalities and women's departure from academic STEM fields: (a) numeric underrepresentation and stereotypes, (b) lack of supportive social networks, and (c) chilly academic climates. We discuss potential solutions for these problems, focusing on National Science Foundation-funded ADVANCE organizational change interventions that target (a) recruiting diverse applicants (e.g., training search committees), (b) mentoring, networking, and professional development (e.g., promoting women faculty networks); and (c) improving academic climate (e.g., educating male faculty on gender bias).

Ten simple rules for running a successful women-in-STEM organization on an academic campus

The current academic culture facing women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields in the United States has sparked the formation of grassroots advocacy groups to empower female scientists in training. However, the impact of these initiatives often goes unmeasured and underappreciated. Our Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) organization serves postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and research technicians (trainees) at a private research institute for biological sciences. Here we propose the following guidelines for cultivating a successful women-in-STEM-focused group based upon survey results from our own scientific community as well as the experience of our WiSE group leaders. We hope these recommendations can provide guidance to advocacy groups at other research and academic organizations that wish to strengthen their efforts. Whereas our own group specifically focuses on the underrepresented state of women in science, we hope these guidelines may be adapted and applied to groups that advocate for any minority group within the greater scientific community (i.e., those of gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, etc.).

Women are underrepresented in leadership positions in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) despite obtaining undergraduate and graduate-level degrees at roughly the same rate as men. To take advantage of this resource of highly trained women in STEM fields, there needs to be better career support for female scientists in training. The authors report on their experience running a women-in-STEM-focused group to foster a more supportive, collaborative, and egalitarian scientific community. In particular, the authors use data-driven metrics to evaluate the success of their group in meeting the needs of their community. The results of this evaluation are presented as a set of 10 guidelines for establishing and maintaining advocacy groups that support the careers of women in science.