WHAT WOMEN WANTMYTHS/REALITIES BEHIND FEMALE

STEM PARTICIPATION

Photo Courtesy of Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau

Session Facilitator

Dr. Jodi L. CarsonDirector, Olympic College MESA ProgramProject Lead, Washington STEM Experiential Learning Program

EducationAssociate of Arts, Peninsula CollegeBachelor’s, Master’s, and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, University of Washington

Related ExperienceCivil Engineering Faculty, Montana State UniversityResearcher, University of WashingtonResearcher, Texas A&M UniversityLicensed Professional Engineer in Montana/Texas

Session Objectives

•Briefly discuss female participation in STEM

•Consider potential reasons why females are not pursuing STEM– Attempt to distinguish myth from reality

• Identify implementable actions to encourage female participation in STEM

Will NOT:• Introduce original research• Comprehensively address all relevant research• Focus on early or late stages of STEM

participation• Provide a single “silver bullet” that attracts

females to STEM

Will NOT:• Introduce original research• Comprehensively address all relevant research• Focus on early or late stages of STEM

participation• Provide a single “silver bullet” that attracts

females to STEM

FEMALE PARTICIPATION IN STEM

Photo Courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory

Female Participation in STEM

– For first-year college students, males intending to pursue STEM major outnumber females 2 to 1

– In physics, engineering, and computer science, females earn only 20% of bachelor’s degrees

– 74% of females age 14-17 are interested in STEM

– Females and males take same number of math/science courses and are equally prepared for STEM majors

– Females hold 48% of all jobs but only 24% of STEM jobs

– Chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering professions have lowest female participation rates (8-12%)

Source: Girl Scout Research Institute 2012American Association of University Women 2010

Female Participation in STEM

Why is it important to involve females in STEM anyway?

– Societal aspirations for gender and pay equity

• STEM jobs predicted to grow faster than all occupations on average, but females hold <25% of STEM positions

• For the same job, females earn less than men

– In 2012, female workers made 77¢ for every $1 earned by males on average

– In STEM fields, female workers made 92¢ for every $1 earned by males

Female Participation in STEM

Source: National Science Board 2010www.millionwomenmentors.org 2013

– When females are not involved in engineering and scientific design, characteristics unique to them may be overlooked

Female Participation in STEM

• Early voice-recognition systems were calibrated to male voices and as a result, women’s voices were literally unheard

•Male engineers tailored early automotive airbags to adult male bodies, resulting in avoidable deaths for women and children

Female Participation in STEM

Photo Courtesy of IBM Corporation Archives Photo Courtesy of Academy of Achievement

Source: American Association of University Women 2010

Female Participation in STEM

How do we begin to change these STEM participation numbers?

Understanding differences in cognitive abilities

Improving self-assessment and confidence

Avoiding stereotypes and bias

Identifying personal motivations and relating these to STEM

COGNITIVE ABILITIES

Photo Courtesy of Gawker Media

Cognitive Abilities

“One reason men do better in math-related fields is because they have a superior innate ability”

– Larry Summers, former President of Harvard

“Differences at the top levels of math and science are rooted in social factors”

– Elizabeth Spelke, Harvard Psychology Professor

“There just aren’t gender differences anymore in math performance… so parents and teachers need to revise their thoughts about this”

– Science, Vol 321/No 5888, Jul 25, 2008

Cognitive Abilities

High school females earn higher GPAs in math than males

High school females score lower in SAT-math test scores than males

Does the data support these findings?

Average = 0.16

Average = 35

Source: National Center for Education Statistics 2013

Cognitive Abilities

Physiology vs. Psychology– Spencer, et al. (1999)

administered math tests to mixed gender groups with comparable skills

• First group told there was no difference in test performance formales and females

• Second group told males performed better than females on test

300+ studies support “stereotype threat” phenomenon; Walton and Spencer (2009) estimate 20-pt difference on SAT-math scores

300+ studies support “stereotype threat” phenomenon; Walton and Spencer (2009) estimate 20-pt difference on SAT-math scores

Spatial Skills/Visualization

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Males outperform females on spatial tasks

Spatial skills can be improved throughpractice

Cognitive Abilities

Source: Guay 1976; Ekstrom, et al. 1976;Titus and Horsman 2009

Based on series of studies by Sorby, et al. 1993-2003

• Females are three times more likely to fail Purdue Spatial Visualization Test

• Can be improved with training– Course offered at 30+

universities and as Introduction to 3D Spatial Visualization self-study workbook

– After 10-week course, scores improved from 52% to 82%

Cognitive Abilities

What Can We Do?

• Teach females that cognitive abilities can be acquired– The brain is a muscle that gets stronger/better with exercise

• Teach females (and educators) about stereotype threat to improve performance, specifically on tests – Avoid verbalizing self-fulfilling expectations regarding

performance

• Encourage development of spatial skills– Let females to take things apart, fit objects,

work with their hands– Use handheld, 3-dimensional models to help

females visualize what they see on paperSource: American Association of University Women 2010

SELF-ASSESSMENT AND CONFIDENCE

Photo Courtesy of Leszek Glasner | Dreamstime.com

Self-assessment and Confidence

“Boys do not pursue mathematical activities at a higher rate thangirls do because they are better at mathematics. They do so, at least partially, because they think they are better.”

—Shelley Correll, Stanford University

Correll (2001) compared self-assessed math ability among high school males and females

– With equal math performance, males were more likely to believe they are competent than females

– Higher math self-assessment increased odds of enrolling in calculus and choosing STEM major

• Males were 1.2 times more likely to enroll in calculus than equally capable females

Self-assessment and ConfidenceFollow-on study considered effects of stereotype threat on self-assessments (Correll 2004)

Participants were asked what minimum score suggests “high ability” in math

– Case1: no perceived gender differences

– Case 2: males are perceived to be better

Association of mathematical competence with males negatively influences females’ self-assessments and raises the standard by which they judge themselves, even in the face of good grades and test scores.

Association of mathematical competence with males negatively influences females’ self-assessments and raises the standard by which they judge themselves, even in the face of good grades and test scores.

What Can We Do?

• Send the message that females and males are equally capable of achieving in math and science

• Make performance standards and expectations clear

– Reduce females’ uncertainty about performance and reliance on stereotypes to assess themselves

– Because the same grade might signal something different to females, use phrases like, “if you got above an 80on this test, you are doing a great job”

Source: American Association of University Women 2010

STEREOTYPES AND BIAS

Used by permission, ® 2014 The LEGO Group

Stereotypes and Bias

Despite attempts to reject stereotypes, most people continue to associate:–science and math fields with “male”–humanities and arts fields with “female”

Nosek, et al. (2002) developed gender-science test to measure implicit association between math-arts and male-female, https://implicit.harvard.edu

– More than a half million people have completed test– >70% associate “male” with science and “female” with

arts

Stereotypes and Bias

Moss-Racusin, et al. (2012) investigated gender-related “implicit bias” among science faculty across the nation

– Identical lab manager applications developed for “Jennifer” and “John”• Randomly assigned for review by 127 faculty

– Male candidate “John” was:• Consistently viewed as more

competent and a better candidate• Offered higher average salary

($30.2 k vs. $26.5k)

– Findings were true for both male and female faculty reviewers

What Can We Do?

• Learn about your own implicit bias, https://implicit.harvard.edu– Be aware of messages sent to females and males about STEM

suitability– Take steps to minimize/eliminate gender as a factor in decision-

making

• Expose females to:– Relatable STEM role models

– Professional organizations (Women in Science and Engineering, Society of Women Engineers, Lady Coders)

– Online communities (Million Women Mentors)

– Engaging STEM information/activities– Science and engineering fairs, robotics camps– Student clubs or organizations– Educational Internet/television programmingSource: American Association of University Women

2010

PERSONAL MOTIVATION

Photo Courtesy of Marek Uliasz | Dreamstime.com

Personal Motivation

“Most people do not view STEM occupations as benefiting society or individuals”

—National Academy of Engineering 2008

Girl Scout Research Institute (2012) surveyed 14-17 year old females–88% of females want to make a difference in the world–90% of females want to help people–Only 13% identify a STEM occupation as first choice

“Students may not be connecting the dots between their innate interests and a potential STEM-related career”

— Chronicle of Higher Education (2014)

Personal Motivation

“...usually work near major industrial and commercial centers.”

“…move from place to place to work on different projects.”

“…design and construct safe and higher capacity transportation, water supply and pollution control systems, and large buildings and building complexes.”

“…need to replace civil engineers who transfer to other occupations or leave the labor force.”

“…annual starting salary offers averaging $52,048.”

https://louisville.edu/speed/ergonomics/speed/downloads/DeptSellSheet_CEE.pdf

How can we reframe Civil Engineering to appeal more to female motivations?

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/

Personal Motivation

Personal Motivation

https://www.math.lsu.edu/ugrad/whymath

“…beautiful, fun, and practical field…”“…helps a person become literate, conversant and knowledgeable in many fields”“Professional schools in business, law, and medicine respect mathematics majors…”“Jobs with good job satisfaction…several of the top ten are mathematics related.”“Teaching can be an emotionally and intellectually rewarding career, and there is a strong job market…”

Personal Motivation

How can we reframe Mathematics to appeal more to female motivations?

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/

What Can We Do?

• Learn the “nuts and bolts” of various STEM careers– O*NET OnLine, http://www.onetonline.org/find/career?c=15

– Career Cornerstone Center, http://www.careercornerstone.org/

• Identify and highlight how these STEM careers can also satisfy personal motivations to help people or make a difference– Highlight example projects within a career field that have

positively impacted society or individuals – Science Buddies, http://www.sciencebuddies.org/

science-engineering-careers – Engineer Your Life, http://www.engineer

yourlife.org/cms/whyengineering.aspx

Concluding Remarks

Based on the limited information presented today regarding female:•cognitive abilities•stereotypes and bias•self-assessment and confidence and •personal motivationseach of us can immediately begin to implement collective and modest changes to better attract and retain females in STEM.

Attitude Exposure Encouragement Presentation

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!

Dr. Jodi L. Carson

Olympic College MESA Program

Science and Technology Building, Room 1081600 Chester AvenueBremerton, WA 98337-1699

Phone: (360) 475-7499

Email: jcarson@olympic.edu