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Misconceptions Put Women Off STEM Subjects
Young women seem to be less drawn to degrees in science or technology. A sociological study has revealed that outdated gender stereotypes play a major role [news.uzh.ch]:
Why do so few female school leavers with good grades in mathematics choose to study a technical subject – despite the high salaries and good employment prospects in the STEM sector? This question has long preoccupied the social sciences, especially as studies show that girls and boys do equally well in mathematics at school.
It is possible that socially embedded gender stereotypes play a role, such as: men think logically and in abstract terms, women are more creative; men should be the breadwinners, women take care of the family; men are competitive, women are more risk-averse. A study by Benita Combet from the Department of Sociology at the University of Zurich has now shown that some of these ingrained beliefs do indeed influence people's subject choices.
[...] "Especially with regard to factors such as logical thinking style and technical skills, strong gender stereotypes still exist, which obviously significantly influence the decisions of female high school students," says Combet. "We should therefore continue to work on challenging and questioning these fixed beliefs." With regard to analytical thinking, for example, it has by no means been scientifically proven that there are differences between men and women. Moreover, the ability to think analytically is a basic requirement for almost every subject area.
Combet also believes schoolchildren should be given better and more detailed information about future subject choices: "Many of their current perceptions are not accurate." For example, many believe that to be good at engineering, all you need is an affinity for technology. In fact, says Combet, "interpersonal and creative skills are also important in engineering, for example working in a team to develop new products."
Journal Reference:
Benita Combet, Women's aversion to majors that (seemingly) require systemizing skills causes gendered field of study choice, European Sociological Review, 2023; https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcad021 [doi.org]
