The notion that women aren't interested in STEM has been a common argument for explaining the lack of women in STEM. Some may argue it's no secret that there are differences in male and female brains, which lead to variations in interests. As genders might be inclined to lean towards one interest or another, we must look at the root cause of those differences, which are likely to not be biological 100% of the time, and could be shaped by other factors.
Some may argue that the difference between male and female brains is the answer why women don't choose STEM - perhaps they find it too challenging and thus choose another, more appealing and easier to understand study area, and thus, they're more likely to excel in other areas, where men cannot. However, these differences can be deemed inapplicable when it comes to STEM, and it has been researched that due to shared biologically based cognitive capacities, "both men and women can develop equal talent for STEM".
As it's true that many women have little interest in the science subjects, we forget to consider the factors that led up to the problematic shortage of excitement. Surprisingly, GirlsWhoCode reported that around 74% of middle school girls have an interest in STEM. However, according to the data from Microsoft, this curiosity drops significantly after reaching high school. What leads to this dramatic downfall?
We understand that there are plenty of women who would have loved to pursue a career in STEM, but they chose not to due to other factors. In this article, we will be covering the reasoning of why some women might not develop an interest in STEM in the first place.
The issue with the pink toys
The answer hides in our childhood. Institution for Engineering and Technology researched and found that toys that focus on STEM were three times as likely to be targeted at boys than girls.
Parents often don't give toys a second thought. Girls play with barbies, ponies, whereas boys are bought cars and cool transforming robots. The exposure to technology-driven toys regularly results in further curiosity about their operation and composition.
Although it might seem insignificant, this considerably affects the mind of a girl.
“By age 3, children can start articulating gender and racial stereotypes,” says Catherine Hill, vice president for Research at AAUW. “They are learning by what they see, and they are forming stereotypes from the world around them — from parents, teachers, daycare staff.”
Additionally, the gendering of toys contributes massively too. When children learn that toys can be targeted towards one gender, gender bias is likely to be maintained and applied to other aspects of their life, including their career choice. Jess Day from "Let Toys Be Toys", an activist that promotes the idea of putting an end to gender separation in the toy industry, confirms that marketing campaigns are often catered towards either boys or girls.
“We previously asked women engineers and scientists about the toys they played with as children and the most interesting finding was, not that they all played with construction or science toys, but they didn’t recall being aware of a distinction between girls’ and boys’ toys at all."
Mathematics, social bias and gender norms in school
There is a stereotype that boys are naturally more qualified at maths than girls. Unfortunately, maths anxiety is a prevailing condition that affects students regardless of their expertise. Maths anxiety has nothing to do with performance itself - studies show that both girls and boys perform the same. What's more, maths anxiety can be passed over, and unfortunately, girls are commonly the ones affected by this phenomenon.
It happens so that the teachers of elementary school are primarily women, and according to studies, possess the highest levels of maths anxiety compared to other majors. As maths anxiety is an unpleasant emotion, people affected by it tend to stray away from career paths that involve mathematics.
As we discussed earlier, children of school age can recognize gender stereotyping. Interestingly, pupils are also more likely to follow the behaviour of same-gender adults. Therefore, girls are more likely to notice the uncertainty and fear of maths their teachers possess, which directly impacts their interest in mathematics, a fundamental course for all STEM degrees.
A study by the National Academy of Sciences confirms this hypothesis. Pupils taught by a female teacher were tested for maths anxiety at the beginning and end of the school year. Although the results were even at the start of the school year for both boys and girls, a difference was recorded after the second test. An increase in mathematical anxiety was significantly higher in girls in contrast to their counterparts.
This leads us to the conclusion that girls are more prone to stray away from STEM because of the onset of math anxiety, which can, unfortunately, be amplified by their elementary school educators. More importantly, the notion has zero to do with a lack of capability.
The self-fulfiling prophecy
As we explored the reasoning behind maths anxiety, many girls have a fear of not succeeding in maths. Unfortunately, combined with overheard stereotypes of boys believingly being 'more gifted' at maths, the false belief of being inherently worse at maths ends up fulfiling itself.
A study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology reports that when given a stereotype of being bad at maths, women indeed ended up scoring less on a test. Consequently, the women who were not faced with a negative stereotype before the test scored as well as men. This phenomenon explains why girls, faced with stereotypes and worse results due to them, are likely to turn away from STEM subjects.
The bottom line
Linking all the factors, it's apparent that girls require to power through all the negative stereotypes surrounding women's' performance in STEM, and that requires confidence in their skills. Yet, remaining certain is challenging without an influential care system, thus having supportive parents and educators are vital. Without them, many girls lose their initial interest in STEM.
Alun Jones, head of the Girls’ School Association, highlighted that girls could be encouraged to “think like a scientist” in the right environment and through exposure to scientific roles.
“We’re dealing with centuries of gender bias and what people and parents think and say, often without realising it, does influence children’s expectations of themselves. Girls’ schools can’t eradicate this kind of cultural conditioning, but we can take significant steps towards minimising it, and the results indicate that this does boost girls’ confidence in their maths and science abilities.”
Written by Gerda Ugne Pupelyte
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