Gender Equity in College Majors: Looking Beyond the STEM/Non-STEM Dichotomy for Answers Regarding Female Participation

Ganley, Colleen M.; George, Casey E.; Cimpian, Joseph R.; Makowski, Martha B.

doi:10.3102/0002831217740221

Cited by 100 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Ong et al [91] suggests that supportive mentoring relations with the faculty can be crucial but rarely provided for minority groups in STEM disciplines such as women of color. Relatedly, cultural attributions or gender roles in society can be another important aspect that can generate differences in students' motivational characteristics and identities, in particular STEM fields [89,94,95]. These biased attributions include sociocultural expectations (e.g., culturally endorsed image of a physicist as "male") and negative stereotypes (e.g., beliefs about men being better at physics than women).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why female science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors do not identify with physics: They do not think others see them that way

Kalender

Marshman

Schunn

et al. 2019

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.

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Gender differences in students' physics identity in introductory physics courses can influence students' interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and their career decisions. Exploring the components that influence these identities is critical to developing a better understanding of the underrepresentation of women in physics courses and physics-related majors. We used a revised version of the physics identity framework developed by Hazari et al. [J. Res. Sci. Teach. 47, 978 (2010)] to investigate whether the relation between gender and physics identity was mediated by motivational factors, such as competency belief, interest, and perceived recognition by others. We surveyed approximately 500 students in introductory level calculus-based physics courses in which 30% of the students are women. Analysis revealed that the relation between gender and physics identity was mediated by students' selfreported motivation at the end of the semester. The model showed that perceived recognition by others played a major role in students' endorsement of physics identity with female students less likely to endorse statements that others perceived them as a "physics person."

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why female science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors do not identify with physics: They do not think others see them that way

Kalender

Marshman

Schunn

et al. 2019

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…There is currently considerable effort to get women and people of color into STEM careers, as they are underrepresented in these typically higher paying fields (Dey & Hill, 2007;Ryan, 2012). There are certainly many systemic blocks to STEM careers for these individuals, but also there is building evidence that they may be self-selecting out (e.g., for women, due to perceived gender bias against women; Ganley, George, Cimpian, & Makowski, 2018). Part of this might be because individuals with higher math anxiety are more likely to avoid math experiences (Chipman, Krantz, & Silver, 1992).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The nature of math anxiety in adults: Prevalence and correlates

Hart

Ganley

2019

J. Numer. Cogn.

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It is important to understand the nature of math anxiety in the general adult population, as the importance of math skills does not end when one leaves school. To this end, we present a well-powered, preregistered study of English-speaking U.S. adults describing the nature of math anxiety in this population. 1000 participants were recruited online. Math anxiety was approximately normally distributed, with the mean between “some” and “moderate”. Math anxiety was significantly negatively correlated with probability knowledge and math fluency, and significantly positively correlated with general anxiety and test anxiety. Women reported higher math anxiety than did men. Participants who had completed graduate school or had a STEM career had significantly lower levels of math anxiety than did those with less education, or non-STEM careers. Thus, we see evidence for math anxiety in U.S. adults and that it correlates with factors also reported in previous studies using younger and student populations.

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“…In the US, women in graduate programs have reported experiencing different types of sexism ranging from subtle acts known as micro-aggressions to overt sexism [6]. Perceptions of gender bias, regardless of whether discrimination occurs, impacts choice in major [7]. Less obvious issues exist as well.…”

Section: B Gender and Persistancementioning

confidence: 99%

Persistence and career choices of female Finnish university physics students

Knaub¹,

Barthelemy²

2019

2018 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings

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Finland is often seen and admired as an equity and education-focused country. They have policies that champion gender equity and a world-renowned K-12 education system, with students ranking among the top on international metrics. However, little is known on whether these policies and early education experiences support gender equity in postsecondary education and beyond, particularly in fields that struggle to support women. The few studies that exist indicate that despite having aptitude and national policy that seeks to create gender equity, women may not pursue physics careers. As part of a larger project, we present findings from a study on Finnish physics students enrolled in Finnish universities. Results indicate that students in this study have experiences and attributes that contribute to persisting in physics. When examining these data for gender, we found that women are no more likely to consider leaving physics than men. We also found that female PhD students tend to be interested in non-academic careers more than men.

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Gender Equity in College Majors: Looking Beyond the STEM/Non-STEM Dichotomy for Answers Regarding Female Participation

Cited by 100 publications

References 64 publications

Why female science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors do not identify with physics: They do not think others see them that way

Why female science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors do not identify with physics: They do not think others see them that way

The nature of math anxiety in adults: Prevalence and correlates

Persistence and career choices of female Finnish university physics students

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