Confronting Sexism in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM): What Are the Consequences?

Disparaging remarks that female scientists are ‘Distractingly Sexy’ (Waxman, 2015) and ‘Too Pretty to Do Math’ t-shirts (Amazon.com) highlight the common belief that women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) violate perceived gender norms. However, by confronting these beliefs, women may incur a ‘double-dose’ of hostility; once for being present in science, and again because of the confrontation itself (Kaiser & Miller, 2001). Across three studies, this research tested how women confronting sexism in STEM contexts would elicit and anticipate social costs. Study 1 showed that male participants rated a hypothetical female confronter in STEM higher in bossiness and stupidity than did female participants. Study 2 showed that female STEM majors who imagined themselves confronting (vs. ignoring) sexism in science anticipated being labelled as bossier, and perceived science as more difficult. Thus, across two studies, social and personal costs of confronting sexism were more strongly elicited and anticipated in STEM versus arts. Study 3 assessed how different sexism types and styles of confrontation influenced social and personal costs among women in STEM. As predicted, those who imagined confronting sexism with anger (vs. education, indirect, or a no confrontation control condition) anticipated the greatest social costs, while those who imagined confronting with education anticipated fewer costs than those imagining anger, but greater costs than those imagining an indirect response or inaction. Those imagining an indirect confrontation anticipated greater social costs than those who imagined ignoring sexism, but lower personal costs such as less STEM difficulty and greater STEM efficacy and identity. Findings suggest the complex nature of women’s responses to sexism, extending previous social costs literature into a scientific context

Confronting Sexism in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM): What Are the Consequences?

Disparaging remarks that female scientists are ‘Distractingly Sexy’ (Waxman, 2015) and ‘Too Pretty to Do Math’ t-shirts (Amazon.com) highlight the common belief that women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) violate perceived gender norms. However, by confronting these beliefs, women may incur a ‘double-dose’ of hostility; once for being present in science, and again because of the confrontation itself (Kaiser & Miller, 2001). Across three studies, this research tested how women confronting sexism in STEM contexts would elicit and anticipate social costs. Study 1 showed that male participants rated a hypothetical female confronter in STEM higher in bossiness and stupidity than did female participants. Study 2 showed that female STEM majors who imagined themselves confronting (vs. ignoring) sexism in science anticipated being labelled as bossier, and perceived science as more difficult. Thus, across two studies, social and personal costs of confronting sexism were more strongly elicited and anticipated in STEM versus arts. Study 3 assessed how different sexism types and styles of confrontation influenced social and personal costs among women in STEM. As predicted, those who imagined confronting sexism with anger (vs. education, indirect, or a no confrontation control condition) anticipated the greatest social costs, while those who imagined confronting with education anticipated fewer costs than those imagining anger, but greater costs than those imagining an indirect response or inaction. Those imagining an indirect confrontation anticipated greater social costs than those who imagined ignoring sexism, but lower personal costs such as less STEM difficulty and greater STEM efficacy and identity. Findings suggest the complex nature of women’s responses to sexism, extending previous social costs literature into a scientific context

Picture This: Using photo-research exhibits as science outreach

Is a picture worth a thousand words? This paper discusses a unique science outreach initiative–provocative photo-research exhibits on sexism in science. Gender imbalance in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is not only a concern from a social justice perspective, but also has negative consequences for scientific innovation and the economy, given that lack of workplace gender diversity is associated with lower revenue and returns. Science outreach (i.e., public outreach by scientists) could be particularly impactful in Waterloo, Ontario – a region known as ‘Canada’s Silicon Valley’ that contributes over $30-billion annually to the global economy. Portraying complex social issues using a visual medium has the potential to be accessible to a diverse audience. Images from two photo-research exhibits #DistractinglySexist (2015) and #DistractinglyHonest (2016) were based on social-psychological literature and findings from research by two of the authors (Hennessey and Foster) on the social costs of confronting sexism in science. Feedback indicates that these exhibits are effective outreach tools, and appear to facilitate discussions on sexism in science, and expand the social network of women in science by connecting those in the series and people who engage with exhibit materials

Hiding in Plain Sight: Identifying Computational Thinking in the Ontario Elementary School Curriculum

Given a growing digital economy with complex problems, demands are being made for education to address computational thinking (CT) – an approach to problem solving that draws on the tenets of computer science. We conducted a comprehensive content analysis of the Ontario elementary school curriculum documents for 44 CT-related terms to examine the extent to which CT may already be considered within the curriculum. The quantitative analysis strategy provided frequencies of terms, and a qualitative analysis provided information about how and where terms were being used. As predicted, results showed that while CT terms appeared mostly in Mathematics, and concepts and perspectives were more frequently cited than practices, related terms appeared across almost all disciplines and grades. Findings suggest that CT is already a relevant consideration for educators in terms of concepts and perspectives; however, CT practices should be more widely incorporated to promote 21st century skills across disciplines. Future research would benefit from continued examination of the implementation and assessment of CT and its related concepts, practices, and perspectives

Picture This: Using photo-research exhibits as science outreach

Is a picture worth a thousand words? This paper discusses a unique science outreach initiative–provocative photo-research exhibits on sexism in science. Gender imbalance in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is not only a concern from a social justice perspective, but also has negative consequences for scientific innovation and the economy, given that lack of workplace gender diversity is associated with lower revenue and returns. Science outreach (i.e., public outreach by scientists) could be particularly impactful in Waterloo, Ontario – a region known as ‘Canada’s Silicon Valley’ that contributes over $30-billion annually to the global economy. Portraying complex social issues using a visual medium has the potential to be accessible to a diverse audience. Images from two photo-research exhibits #DistractinglySexist (2015) and #DistractinglyHonest (2016) were based on social-psychological literature and findings from research by two of the authors (Hennessey and Foster) on the social costs of confronting sexism in science. Feedback indicates that these exhibits are effective outreach tools, and appear to facilitate discussions on sexism in science, and expand the social network of women in science by connecting those in the series and people who engage with exhibit materials

Can Slacktivism Work? Perceived Power Differences Moderate the Relationship Between Social Media Activism and Collective Action Intentions Through Positive Affect

We argue that the often-used critique of social media activism as merely a ‘feel-good’ mechanism can be countered by conceptualizing social media activism as a necessary type of collective action (i.e., consensus mobilization), incorporating theory on the benefits of positive feelings for activism, and by examining how power may affect these relationships. Women from two different samples (MTurk and university) were randomly assigned to recall a high- versus low-power experience, view real-world events of sexism, and then complete questionnaires assessing endorsement of social media activism, positive affect, and collective action intentions. A dual moderated mediation analyses at the second stage of mediation showed equivalency across two samples, at which point the single moderated mediation model was tested on the combined sample. The model was significant, such that among those in the high-power condition, endorsing social media activism was associated with greater positive affect, which in turn predicted greater collective action intentions. Among those in the low-power condition, however, this indirect effect was not significant. This study provides counter-evidence to the ‘slacktivism’ critique, contributes to theories of collective action, power and their integration, and identifies a possible intervention to enhance the effectiveness of social media activism

Hiding in Plain Sight: Identifying Computational Thinking in the Ontario Elementary School Curriculum

Given a growing digital economy with complex problems, demands are being made for education to address computational thinking (CT) – an approach to problem solving that draws on the tenets of computer science. We conducted a comprehensive content analysis of the Ontario elementary school curriculum documents for 44 CT-related terms to examine the extent to which CT may already be considered within the curriculum. The quantitative analysis strategy provided frequencies of terms, and a qualitative analysis provided information about how and where terms were being used. As predicted, results showed that while CT terms appeared mostly in Mathematics, and concepts and perspectives were more frequently cited than practices, related terms appeared across almost all disciplines and grades. Findings suggest that CT is already a relevant consideration for educators in terms of concepts and perspectives; however, CT practices should be more widely incorporated to promote 21st century skills across disciplines. Future research would benefit from continued examination of the implementation and assessment of CT and its related concepts, practices, and perspectives

Can Slacktivism Work? Perceived Power Differences Moderate the Relationship Between Social Media Activism and Collective Action Intentions Through Positive Affect

We argue that the often-used critique of social media activism as merely a ‘feel-good’ mechanism can be countered by conceptualizing social media activism as a necessary type of collective action (i.e., consensus mobilization), incorporating theory on the benefits of positive feelings for activism, and by examining how power may affect these relationships. Women from two different samples (MTurk and university) were randomly assigned to recall a high- versus low-power experience, view real-world events of sexism, and then complete questionnaires assessing endorsement of social media activism, positive affect, and collective action intentions. A dual moderated mediation analyses at the second stage of mediation showed equivalency across two samples, at which point the single moderated mediation model was tested on the combined sample. The model was significant, such that among those in the high-power condition, endorsing social media activism was associated with greater positive affect, which in turn predicted greater collective action intentions. Among those in the low-power condition, however, this indirect effect was not significant. This study provides counter-evidence to the ‘slacktivism’ critique, contributes to theories of collective action, power and their integration, and identifies a possible intervention to enhance the effectiveness of social media activism