Ask boys or girls to picture an engineer, and they’ll likely visualize a man. Ask about a computer scientist, and the response would be the same. But ask which gender is better at and more interested in math or science, and the slight edge these days would likely go to girls.
New research from the É«»¨Ìà released this week found that students don’t view all STEM subjects alike. Boys and girls generally believe that engineering and computer science are professions for males, while the tide has changed some for math and science — with girls slightly favored or equal.
“We talk about STEM as this big monolith, but when you actually look more closely, there are a lot of differences between STEM fields,” said Allison Master, an assistant professor at the É«»¨Ìà College of Education and the lead researcher on the paper. “There’s a lot of equity gaps and we’re doing better at addressing some of them than others. We should put our resources where the biggest problems are.”
The study was published in the , a prestigious journal of the National Academy of Sciences.
“If we can change their perceptions, they feel like they can belong in these fields.” - Allison Master, assistant professor, É«»¨Ìà College of Education
Master, who teaches in the College’s measurement, quantitative methods and learning sciences, or MQMLS, doctoral program, noted that stereotypes form in elementary school and impact the majors that students pursue in college as well as the diversity of the workforce. According to national data, women earn 21% of computer science and engineering degrees in the United States, but they earn 60% of degrees in biological sciences. Those subjects represent a large chunk of STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering and math.
“We need a lot of viewpoints in computer science and engineering,” she said. “We want people making technology who understand the problems and issues faced by everyone in our society.”
As an example, she said, underrepresentation may mean some medical equipment is designed to fit only one gender well or technology may not recognize a certain skin tone.
Bucking the trend, the students surveyed gave girls a slight advantage over boys in math; in science, girls were slightly favored or about the same. The finding shows some progress in combatting stereotypes, Master said, though she noted the differences were small and could be influenced by other factors such as girls getting better grades in school.
The PNAS paper involved data from two surveys of more than 2,700 students in elementary, middle and high school in New England and the South.
Article co-authors include Andrew N. Meltzoff of the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences; Daijiazi Tang, a É«»¨Ìà MQMLS Ph.D. graduate who’s now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan; and Sapna Cheryan, also of the University of Washington.
A 2021 study by the team drew headlines worldwide for its finding that gender stereotypes about engineering and computer science begin as early as age six.
Today, with AI and app development booming, Master said, everyone from parents to educators to the media can help change the message that certain careers are only for certain genders. In addition, she said, schools could make a computer science class like coding more available to increase exposure.
“We need to be giving all kids equal opportunities to try computer science and engineering activities,” she said. “We could make such a difference in the world. There’s so much that these children can contribute if they felt like all these doors were open to them.”
Story by Ericka Mellon