Addressing the Gender Gap in the STEM Field

Abstract

The Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field has gained more traction in the last decades because of the digitalization and technological and economic advancement of society. Amidst the rapid growth in the field, there has been a consistent gender gap, with males making up more than 50% of the STEM field. The gap is often started to be seen as early as secondary school when students start to choose courses. This chapter explores some of the major factors causing this gap from primary school level to career level, drawing on past studies and case studies, and poses possible solutions to bridge the gap. It has a major focus on the United Kingdom but draws examples and case studies from other countries.

1. Introduction

The first introduction of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) acronym was in 2001 by some science administrators at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). SMET was the initial acronym when referring to the career fields in those disciplines. Later, an assistant director of education and human resources at NSF, named Judith Ramaley, rearranged the words to form the STEM acronym. Since then, the acronym has been adopted by several countries beyond the United States [1].

Stohlmann [2] defined STEM education as curricula that attempt to integrate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics into one category based on interdependence and connections in the natural world. Over time, because of the natural overlap between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the curricula in schools started evolving to reflect the relationships among the fields [3]. It became important to develop curricula that support these disciplines as time went on because of the impact STEM education and STEM-related careers had on society at large. According to Bell-young [4], the STEM curriculum in schools became important in the United Kingdom (UK) for various reasons; the backbone it is to society, the solid intellectual foundation it offers to students who take this path, the practical learning experience it offers, and the problem-solving skills it fosters. With the digitalization and technological focus of society in the last decades, it became imperative to focus on the fields that support technological advancement, which largely happens to be STEM.

To understand better the STEM landscape in the UK, the Royal Academy of Engineering undertook a study, in conjunction with the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, to provide stakeholders with an accurate picture of the STEM education landscape. The UK recognizes STEM subjects as critically important to its economic success. For example, according to [5], engineering accounts for 25% of gross value added for the UK economy and manufactured goods account for 50% of UK exports. Science, engineering, and technology underpin the whole economy in one way or the other, including power generation and electricity distribution, utilities, the food chain, healthcare, and our physical, transportation, and information and communications infrastructure [5].

According to [6], countries that focus on the production of information and technology attach more importance to STEM education to improve students’ skills accordingly. In the study conducted, it was found that countries such as the USA, England, and Japan that integrate STEM into the education system have grown economically and there has been an increase in students’ achievement in international exams such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the trends in international mathematics and science study (TIMSS).

Most countries design STEM education from as early as primary school and have a curated curriculum to support them through secondary and tertiary education [7]. STEM education is regarded as a priority in most high-, middle- and low-income countries [8, 9]. However, most countries in Africa are still catching up with this development. The gender gap in STEM education is prevalent in most developed and developing countries [10] and is attributed to a number of factors ranging from political factors to economic and social factors.

Although women are currently more likely than men to hold a college degree in the vast majority of The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, their choices of college major have been and persistently continue to be different from those of men. According to Granato [11], across all OECD countries, women were greatly over-represented among bachelor’s degree graduates in the education field (in which the females share was 77%), but they represented only 26% of engineering graduates and 22% of graduates in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) field in the 2020 statistics. This eliminates the idea that there are more men getting educated than women, the focus just needs to be given to understanding why more women tilt more to other courses outside the STEM field and how we can encourage their involvement.

This chapter sheds light on the gender gap in the STEM field by exploring some of the major reasons for this gap and also posing practical solutions across all levels of society, so as to enable stakeholders in the field to pay closer attention to how they can contribute to bridging the gap, starting from their organizations.

The chapter utilizes data from secondary sources, all from peer-reviewed journals, limited to the last 15 years to highlight the most recent work done in the field.

2. Gender statistics in the STEM field

In spite of the progress women have made in education and the workforce over the past 5 decades, we still continue to see men dominate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields [12]. From 1970 to 2019, the proportion of women in the U.S. workforce increased from 38 to 48%, yet women’s representation in STEM fields increased from 8% to only 27% in the same time period [12]. The same negligible growth is seen in the UK, between 2016 and 2019.

Figure 1 shows the gender statistics of STEM workers in the UK, and while there has been an increase since 2016, it is still comparatively low overall compared to the male gender.

Figure 1.

Distribution of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) workforce in the United Kingdom from 2016 to 2019, by gender [13].

There is growing literature as to the reasons why more men end up in STEM careers compared to women. Granato [11] poses that the issue can be traced to the early foundation years of children. If females acquire lower science and maths ability and knowledge prior to choosing their major this could potentially translate into a lower probability of choosing a STEM degree. Tian et al. [14] gives more context to this, showing in the study that if more females engaged in spatial activities, it could translate to an interest in mathematics, which is found to be a primary reason why males end up in STEM fields. Granato [11] highlights more external factors that could be the reason for the gender gap, the study poses that external and environmental influences, which can originate from a close environment, such as the family, or from the broader social setting in which students grow up and make their choices, which can influence their decision on the career path to take. The study by Granato [11] follows a five-year investigation into the gender gap in STEM fields in a higher institution in Italy, highlighting the possible reasons for the gender gap in STEM and focusing on governmental policies as a factor to be considered by countries to close the gap.

2.1 Possible reasons for the existing gender gap

Effort has been made to identify the various factors across cognitive, motivational, sociocultural, and environmental reasons that are contributing to women’s lower participation in STEM college majors [15]. Studies on cognitive factors have traditionally centered around science and mathematics ability in childhood and adolescence. Strong science and mathematical competence is found to be fundamental for STEM achievement, and high-school students with higher science and math achievement are more likely to choose STEM when it comes to college majors [16]. However, an analysis in the US showed that though boys have long been believed to have stronger math abilities than girls, assessments showed no gender difference in math performance among boys and girls in grades two through grade eleven [17], which makes that factor a probability and not an absolute on the impact it has on student’s decision to go into STEM. Another study conducted in the U.S. went beyond the known cognitive factors and abilities like giftedness in math and calculus and aimed to trace the origins of the gender gap in STEM college majors to spatial skills in middle childhood. The study found that enhancing spatial skills in childhood such as through spatial play at home and spatial activities in schools could set more children, especially girls, on a pathway toward STEM achievement in adulthood [14].

Granato [11] breaks down the determinants of the major choice by students to go into STEM courses into three main factors: pre-college education, family and social background, and higher education supply. To explain these factors further, the study poses that a student’s experience in primary and secondary school influences their skills, interests and subsequently their career. Mathematics was also found to be the highest predictor of the decision to go into STEM courses [17], further evidence from more developed countries like the UK and the US indicates that taking maths courses in high school is a strong predictor of a later STEM major choice [18, 19].

A child’s environment and family also show high correlations to their choice of course in college. Some women with high ability may choose to exert lower effort and select less difficult majors with lower monetary returns when identity enters their choices because it is expected from them under the prevailing gender identity norms in their environment [20, 21]. Parents’ educational achievement is also highlighted under family influence that impacts the decision of what course to study in college and other studies have shown the existence of a gendered pattern in the influence of parents’ education or occupation on their children’s educational and occupational choices [22]. Figure 2 highlights the share of women in STEM who also have parents in the STEM field.

Figure 2.

Share of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields with STEM parents worldwide, as of 2016 [23].

Women are more likely to end up in STEM courses and occupations if either or both parents have a similar occupation.

The availability of higher education in close proximity to college students was also found to influence their course choices [11]. If there is a supply of higher education that a student faces upon high school exit. If higher education institutions are not evenly geographically distributed, then students will settle for courses readily available by the institution closest to them or the one that grants them admission. For example, [24] found that Spanish female college graduates have stronger family relations than males, which largely restricts their geographical mobility and has a negative effect on their educational choices and aspirations.

The conclusion of the study showed that students’ high school experience explains up to half of the gender gap in STEM graduation rates in Italy and young girls were found to be less likely to choose courses with a focus on maths and technical skills if they came from homes where both parents were not in similar fields.

2.2 Solutions to bridging the gender gap

Existing research poses that Women’s under-representation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) studies and careers is seen as a barrier to an extensive and sufficient supply of STEM skills which is considered crucial to boosting economic and technological innovation and growth [25]. There has been an effort made to address this gap and under-representation. In addressing the gender gap from a policy perspective, [11] suggests early interventions targeting both female students and their parents because parents need awareness of the influence they have on their children’s career choices. Intervention for female students alone might not be sufficient to fully address the STEM gender gap.

Mishel [26] highlights the existence of discrimination against women in the workforce and society’s expectations of women to prioritize caring for the family above pursuing careers, therefore interrupting their work for family and household issues. With the demands of most STEM careers, most women might choose other careers outside of STEM to accommodate the flexibility of catering to family matters. If more organizations and institutions accommodated the demands of family life, more women might be encouraged into STEM fields. In addition to this, women are generally believed to be less likely to succeed, get promoted, and occupy leadership positions in sectors where there is male dominance [27]. It is also important to highlight that women who succeed despite these stereotypes usually experience negative reactions for not performing their socially prescribed duties which are usually family-related. These can lead women into low self-efficacy and self-imposed isolation which could later have more adverse effects on their personal and career journey [28].

In a study conducted across five European countries, 39 female staff in STEM fields were interviewed to know the best methods of bridging the gender gap in STEM, the content analysis provided 5 categories which were: modeling, encouragement, change of mindset, campaigns, teaching, policies, and preventing gender discrimination [29]. Table 1 below shows the sub-category of each category.

	Categories	Sub-categories
1	Modeling	Highlighting the figure of women in STEM areas Imprinting success stories in girls’ minds Introducing role models Offering women experiences Presenting successful careers Providing behavior patterns Showing examples Showing success stories Telling stories to girls about successful women in STEM Getting to know the trajectory ofrelevant women in STEM areas
2	Encouragement	Encouraging girls to STEM areas at school Encouraging girls’ participation in scientific events Giving examples about facing challenges Helping girls to believe in themselves Highlighting the obstacles Inspiring girls Introducing female students to science at a younger age Promoting female students in rural areas Providing training and courses Raising awareness in girls Scaffolding girls
3	Change of mindset	Changing the attitudes of others Changing the beliefs of parents Changing the beliefs of the society Stop thinking in boxes Talking about students’ prejudices they bring from home, TV
4	Campaigns	Conducting campaigns Gaining public support Informing society Inviting role models to schools Organizing events to encourage female students
5	Teaching	Arousing curiosity Creating an environment like laboratories Creating different and interesting experiences for girls Encouraging project-based learning Encouraging students to do practical experiments Encouraging students to express opinions clearly Helping girls explore technology in an interactive and intuitive way Providing girls with practical knowledge Providing hands-on activities
6	Policies	Financial support to STEM programs Managing HR effectively Promoting mentoring programs Promoting student career discovery programs
7	Preventing gender discrimination	Eliminating gender discrimination Ensuring equality of genders Eradicating macho stereotypes Preventing societal prejudices Treating boys and girls equally

Table 1.

Categories and sub-categories of ways to bridge the gender gap in STEM fields.

Source: Adapted from Kaplan-say et al. [3].

The categories and subcategories show that a collective effort is required to bridge the digital gap in STEM fields. It is not left to organizations alone, but educational institutions, parents, and government policies also have an impact on a student’s decision to study a course or work in a field.

3. Conclusion

Despite the effort to bridge the gender gap, existing research still shows more work is still required to encourage more women into the STEM field.

More young girls and women need to be mentored because seeing people like them in similar fields encourages their own participation. A lot of stereotypes need to be addressed from home as well as in the workplace. Women should not have to choose family over work, some countries like Sweden and Norway have put policies in place that ensure job security for the women even through different seasons of family life, some of these include maternity and paternity leave, and the option to work virtually and shorter hours after childbirth. If more countries adopt these measures, more women might see a reason to enter the field. Research also calls for reorientation in the minds of young girls and women as to their roles in society. They should know they have options and should not be shamed or discriminated against for whatever option they choose, regardless of the norm seen in their society.

Campaigns have been one of the most popular means used in a lot of countries, but research shows they are often short-lived without addressing the core of the issue, so they should be supplemented with other means highlighted above, to encourage more women into STEM fields.

This chapter should bring all shareholders to collaborate and act together to support and encourage female students to pursue a career in STEM areas.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.