The gender divide in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics study is more complicated than most researchers, policy makers, and practitioners previously thought, writes Natasha Codiroli Mcmaster. She explains that young women's social circumstances play a key role in whether they choose to study STEM at university

Codiroli Mcmaster, Natasha

LSE Research Online

Women	are	less	likely	to	study	STEM	subjects.	Butdisadvantaged	women	are	even	less	soThe	gender	divide	in	science,	technology,	engineering	and	mathematics	study	is	more	complicatedthan	most	researchers,	policymakers,	and	practitioners	previously	thought,	writes	NatashaCodiroli	Mcmaster.	What	has	been	overlooked,	until	recently,	is	how	young	women’s	socialcircumstances	play	a	key	role	in	whether	they	choose	to	study	STEM	subjects	at	university.There	is	a	vast	amount	of	research	showing	that	women	are	less	likely	to	study	STEM	subjects.This	is	a	persistent	finding	in	countries	across	the	world	and	at	all	levels	of	education,	andultimately	leads	to	a	divided	workforce.	With	STEM	subjects	often	paying	higher	salaries,	it	is	a	key	contributor	tothe	gender	pay	gap.	Recent	research	also	suggests	that	STEM	skills	are	required	for	one	in	six	non-STEMoccupations,	and	estimates	expect	this	to	go	up	considerably	over	time.What	was	less	clear,	until	recently,	was	how	consistent	these	divisions	were	depending	on	children’s	socialcircumstances.	To	address	this,	I	analysed	data	from	a	nationally	representative	cohort	of	more	than	4,000students	in	England.	The	data	included	information	on	students’	subject	choices	in	higher	education	andacademic	attainment.	Students’	parents	were	also	interviewed	and	asked	a	wide	range	of	questions	about	theirsocial	circumstances,	such	as	their	level	of	education,	income,	and	job	type.My	study	showed	that	whilst	young	men	were	drawn	towards	STEM	subjects	regardless	of	their	parents’	socialposition,	young	women	from	less	advantaged	social	backgrounds	were	particularly	less	likely	to	study	STEMsubjects.	For	the	most	advantaged	third	of	students,	there	was	no	gender	gap.	This	suggests	that	whatever	isholding	young	women	back	from	studying	STEM	is	only	acting	as	a	barrier	to	relatively	disadvantaged	youngwomen.Qualitative	exploration	of	the	“types”	of	young	women	who	choose	to	study	post-compulsory	physicscomplements	these	findings.	Researchers	on	the	ASPIRES	project	conducted	in-depth	interviews	with	more	than70	students	throughout	their	schooling	and	found	that	girls	studying	physics	tended	to	be	from	highly	educatedand	well-off	families,	often	with	parents	also	working	in	STEM	jobs.It	is	becoming	more	apparent	that	this	is	not	only	the	case	in	England.	Another	recent	study	has	found	similarresults,	this	time	using	representative	data	from	the	Netherlands.	Not	only	were	gender	differences	in	choice	ofSTEM	subjects	smaller	for	the	most	advantaged	students,	but	the	gender	differences	in	choice	of	subjectstypically	dominated	by	women	were	also	reduced.	Young	men	from	well-off	backgrounds	were	more	likely	tostudy	health	and	related	subjects	than	their	less	well-off	peers.Impact of Social Sciences Blog: Women are less likely to study STEM subjects. But disadvantaged women are even less so Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2017-07-20Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2017/07/20/women-are-less-likely-to-study-stem-subjects-but-disadvantaged-women-are-even-less-so/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/Image	credit:	Mind	The	Gap	from	aitoff	(CC0	public	domain)	via	Pixabay.Gender	norms,	parenting,	and	family	backgroundWhy	are	privileged	young	women	more	likely	to	study	STEM	subjects?	A	focal	issue	in	getting	women	into	STEMis	socialisation	about	what	is	“for”	girls	and	what	is	“for”	boys.	This	starts	early,	from	the	differences	in	toysadvertised	towards	girls	and	boys	to	the	ways	in	which	adults	engage	with	babies	of	different	genders.	Whilstadvertising	campaigns	with	a	clear	gender	bias	–	like	the	recent	GAP	campaign	in	which	girls	were	described	as“social	butterflies”	and	boys	as	“little	scholars”	–	are	often	met	with	derision,	they	undoubtedly	have	an	effect	onchildren.	Girls	are	expected	to	want	to	care	for	others,	whilst	boys	are	expected	to	want	to	build	things.	Aschildren	get	older,	boys	are	more	likely	to	be	praised	for	their	natural	intelligence,	and	STEM	subjects	are	oftenseen	as	only	for	the	brightest	and	most	gifted	students.This	explains,	to	some	extent,	why	young	women	would	be	less	likely	to	study	STEM	subjects,	but	not	why	moreadvantaged	young	women	seem	to	be	more	resilient	to	these	effects.	One	possibility	is	that	their	parents’education	level	is	directly	associated	with	their	ideas	about	gender	norms,	and	this	is	passed	on	to	their	children.There	is	evidence	to	suggest	that	higher	educated	parents	have	less	traditional	views	about	gender	roles.Perhaps	more	educated	parents	are	better	at	shielding	their	children	from	the	stereotyping	they	will	experience	asthey	get	older?Students	are	not	only	stereotyped	by	gender	but	also	their	class	background	and	family	income.	Students	fromless	privileged	backgrounds	are	rated	as	less	able	than	their	peers,	even	when	they	have	similar	levels	ofattainment,	and,	as	noted	previously,	STEM	subjects	are	often	seen	as	for	particularly	brainy	students.	So,disadvantaged	students	would	likely	need	to	have	great	resilience	to	deal	with	these	multiple	stereotypes.How	do	we	go	forward?The	government’s	Industrial	Strategy	Green	Paper	highlights	the	need	to	increase	STEM	skills	overall,	withacknowledgment	that	increasing	uptake	of	underrepresented	groups	is	a	key	way	to	address	current	skills	gaps.The	results	of	these	studies	could	be	extremely	useful	in	closing	the	gender	gap	in	access	to	STEM	subjects	as	awhole.	Currently,	the	majority	of	interventions	aimed	at	getting	more	women	into	STEM	are	targeted	at	all	girlsand	young	women.	Findings	from	this	research	suggest	that	perhaps	more	focus	needs	to	be	put	intointerventions	targeting	less	advantaged	girls	in	particular.Impact of Social Sciences Blog: Women are less likely to study STEM subjects. But disadvantaged women are even less so Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2017-07-20Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2017/07/20/women-are-less-likely-to-study-stem-subjects-but-disadvantaged-women-are-even-less-so/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/Students	from	lower	socioeconomic	status	groups	are	less	likely	to	receive	good	quality	careers	advice	but	arethe	ones	that	need	it	most.	A	clear	way	to	get	more	students	to	study	STEM	would	be	to	give	them	knowledge	ofthe	wide	range	of	careers	available	upon	graduation	after	studying	STEM,	or	of	the	subjects	they	need	to	study	atGCSE	and	A-level	to	study	STEM	at	university.	Advantaged	students,	particularly	those	whose	parents	work	inSTEM	spheres	are	most	likely	to	already	have	access	to	this	knowledge.There	are	approaches	that	could	help	close	the	gap	without	targeting.	The	WISE	campaign	People	Like	Me	helpsdispel	myths	that	there	is	just	one	type	of	STEM	professional	(usually	male	and	from	a	well-off	background).Whilst	the	EDF	Pretty	Curious	campaign	was	clumsy	in	language,	it	challenges	the	notion	that	femininity	isincompatible	with	STEM.	There	are	also	increasing	examples	of	diverse	scientists	in	popular	culture,	forexample	Iron	Man	is	an	accomplished	engineer	and	most	recently	represented	as	a	black	woman.	A	movetowards	these	positive	representations	may	be	particularly	persuading	for	children	growing	up	with	strongtraditional	gender	norms,	or	with	other	stereotypes	to	contend	with.	But	we	also	need	more	representation	of“everyday”	female	scientists	to	combat	the	myths	that	only	extremely	academically	gifted	people	are	suited	toscience	and	maths.This	blog	post	is	based	on	the	author’s	article,	“Who	studies	STEM	subjects	at	A	level	and	degree	in	England?	Aninvestigation	into	the	intersections	between	students’	family	background,	gender	and	ethnicity	in	determiningchoice”,	published	in	the	British	Educational	Research	Journal	(DOI:	10.1002/berj.3270).This	blog	post	originally	appeared	on	the	LSE	British	Politics	and	Policy	blog	and	is	published	under	a	CC	BY-NC-ND	3.0	license.Note:	This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	the	LSE	Impact	Blog,	nor	of	the	LondonSchool	of	Economics.	Please	review	our	comments	policy	if	you	have	any	concerns	on	posting	a	comment	below.About	the	authorNatasha	Codiroli	Mcmaster	is	a	PhD	student	based	at	the	Institute	of	Education,	UCL.Impact of Social Sciences Blog: Women are less likely to study STEM subjects. But disadvantaged women are even less so Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2017-07-20Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2017/07/20/women-are-less-likely-to-study-stem-subjects-but-disadvantaged-women-are-even-less-so/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/

Women are less likely to study STEM subjects - but disadvantaged women are even less so

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