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Social Sciences
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Interventions to Reduce Stereotypes in STEM
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Interventions to Reduce Stereotypes in STEM

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760). This special issue belongs to the section "Social Stratification and Inequality".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 7452

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Sabrina Sobieraj

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Ergonomics, Leibniz Research Center for Working Environment and Human Factors, 44139 Dortmund, Germany
Interests: gender stereotypes and roles; gendered technology acceptance and use in private and professional settings; self-concept; gender equality; mixed methods; interdisciplinary approaches

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Women make up almost 50% of the workforce in the labor market. However, it is noteworthy that the labor force of women is not evenly distributed across all occupational groups. Certain professions and positions are still strongly gendered, especially STEM professions. The gender gap in STEM fields can already be observed in school, increasing at university and culminating during later careers. Moreover, structural factors and gender stereotypes are most significant reasons for the gender gap in STEM.

According to social role theory, gender stereotypes have their origin in different power relations, which result in different social attributions to men and women. Characteristics that are necessary for understanding STEM subjects and practicing the corresponding professions are more likely to be ascribed to men from an early age. While gender stereotypes often refer to cisgender women and men, less is known about members of the LGBTQI+ community. All gender stereotypes come at a high cost to individuals, as they prevent them from realizing their potential, from developing an interest in STEM subjects to making career decisions. The social costs are equally serious because the economic and creative potential of many people remains hidden and the opportunity for innovation is limited. 

The aim of this Special Issue is to present interventions that can help to break down gender stereotypes in the STEM field, in order to make a contribution to closing the gender gap to achieve the gender equality of all genders. This Special Issue invites contributions from various fields, such as psychology, pedagogy, social sciences, and communication and media sciences. Different methodological approaches (e.g., experiments, survey studies, qualitative studies, and control groups are highly encouraged where applicable) targeting different kinds of groups (e.g., pupils, teachers, students, employees, human resource managers, recruiters) in different contexts (e.g., schools, universities, business companies) are welcomed in order to cover the breadth and impact of the available interventions (e.g., role models, mentoring programs) and to show different contexts for applications.

Dr. Sabrina Sobieraj
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • gender
  • gender stereotypes
  • gendered occupations
  • gender gap
  • STEM
  • leaky pipeline
  • interventions

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 617 KiB  
Article
Unlocking the Power of Mentoring: A Comprehensive Guide to Evaluating the Impact of STEM Mentorship Programs for Women
by Elke Wolf and Stefanie Brenning
Soc. Sci. 2023, 12(9), 508; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12090508 - 9 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1694
Abstract
Although mentoring programs for female STEM students are often carried out with a great deal of passion on the part of program managers and mentors, robust results on their effects are often missing. However, regular evaluations are indispensable for an efficient allocation of [...] Read more.
Although mentoring programs for female STEM students are often carried out with a great deal of passion on the part of program managers and mentors, robust results on their effects are often missing. However, regular evaluations are indispensable for an efficient allocation of resources towards gender balances in STEM. To accomplish this requirement, empirically valid and easy-to-use evaluation concepts are needed. We therefore develop an evaluation concept which corresponds to a Logic Chart, capturing three levels of expected effects (output—outcome—impact). On each level of impact, we derive a set of success indicators that can be measured by qualitative methods. A major advantage of our evaluation design is that the effect of a mentoring program can be observed directly after the end of the program. Furthermore, the results provide information about different channels of impact (e.g., reduced stereotypes or increased self-efficacy) and hence offer concrete indications for the further development of the program. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interventions to Reduce Stereotypes in STEM)
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24 pages, 12265 KiB  
Article
Under My Skin: Reducing Bias in STEM through New Approaches to Assessment of Spatial Abilities Considering the Role of Emotional Regulation
by Michelle Lennon-Maslin, Claudia Michaela Quaiser-Pohl, Vera Ruthsatz and Mirko Saunders
Soc. Sci. 2023, 12(6), 356; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12060356 - 16 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1264
Abstract
Reducing gender bias in STEM is key to generating more equality and contributing to a more balanced workforce in this field. Spatial ability and its components are cognitive processes crucial to success in STEM education and careers. Significant gender differences have consistently been [...] Read more.
Reducing gender bias in STEM is key to generating more equality and contributing to a more balanced workforce in this field. Spatial ability and its components are cognitive processes crucial to success in STEM education and careers. Significant gender differences have consistently been found in mental rotation (MR), the ability to mentally transform two- and three-dimensional objects. The aim of this pilot study is to examine factors in psychological assessment which may contribute to gender differences in MR performance. Moreover, findings will inform the development of the new approaches to assessment using computer adaptive testing (CAT). (1) Background: The study examines the impact of emotional regulation on MR performance in primary school children whose mean age was 9.28 years old. (2) Methods: Skin conductance was measured to assess the impact of emotional reactivity (ER) on performance during an MR task. (3) Results: Patterns of ER influence response time (RT) on specific items in the task. (4) Conclusions: Identifying the effects of emotional arousal and issues of test construction such as stereotyped stimuli and item difficulty in tests of spatial ability warrants ongoing investigation. It is vital to ensure that these factors do not compromise the accurate measurement of performance and inadvertently contribute to the gender gap in STEM. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interventions to Reduce Stereotypes in STEM)
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13 pages, 782 KiB  
Article
Gender Stereotypes Make Women Invisible: The Presence of Female Scientists in the Media
by Maider Eizmendi-Iraola and Simón Peña-Fernández
Soc. Sci. 2023, 12(1), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12010030 - 31 Dec 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3289
Abstract
Interest in the situation of women scientists has increased in recent years. Scientific institutions and governmental authorities have launched initiatives to promote science as a vocation among women. Within this context, the effort made by the media in disseminating role models is of [...] Read more.
Interest in the situation of women scientists has increased in recent years. Scientific institutions and governmental authorities have launched initiatives to promote science as a vocation among women. Within this context, the effort made by the media in disseminating role models is of vital importance. The aim of this research is to analyse the presence of women scientists in the media, and to conduct an appraisal of the status granted to them and the image conveyed about them. To this end, we analysed the content published on the websites of the regional newspapers Berria, Gara, El Correo and Diario de Navarra between 2014 and 2019 citing women scientists and researchers (N = 2362). The results indicate that presence is greater in quantitative terms, as is the prominence given to them in headlines. However, the disciplines in which they practise and the stereotypes which are conveyed shape their image, which in the case of STEM areas emphasise their role as carers and their singularity in the scientific field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interventions to Reduce Stereotypes in STEM)
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