STEM Stereotypes

863 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Gender inequality within stem fields

Ever since the study of mathematics and science has begun, women have been underrepresented in the STEM field. The STEM field is made up of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. There have been a lot of efforts to increase the number of women in STEM careers; however, men remain dominant in the field. For example, in 2015 women filled 47% of all U.S. jobs, but held only 24% of the STEM careers ( ). Meaning that in 2015 men held 76% of all the STEM careers. The gap between men and women in STEM continues to widen and men continue to dominate the STEM field. Now one might ask, why is there such a large gap between men and women in STEM careers?
One response to this question, is that girls interested in STEM careers is influenced by the stereotypes society has about women in the STEM field. These stereotypes play a …show more content…

This is because, women are often stereotyped as being bad at math and science compared to their male counterparts. Throughout their years of schooling, women are constantly facing this stereotype, which then influences their participation in STEM careers. However, their male counterparts don’t have this stereotype associated with them, leading them more likely to enter into STEM careers because they don’t have to worry about constantly being questioned about their abilities. By women being associated with this stereotype, it often holds them back from reaching their full math and science potential. Which then causes women to underperform in math because they are starting to conform to the stereotype that they must be bad at math. This can also be known as the stereotype threat. According to the acclaimed psychologists Claude Steele and Joshua Arson, a stereotype

Show More
Related

  • The Power of Words: Lawrence Summers' 2005 Speech on Inequality

    1223 Words  | 3 Pages

    Words can be powerful, especially when those words are spoken by the president of a top university. In a 2005 speech by Lawrence Summers, he put forth the hypothesis that there are more men than women in the most high end positions due to a different set of measurable attributes, rather than it being caused by pervasive sexism or discrimination. To make it to the top of highly demanding fields, one has to be of exceptional quality and these are “people who are three and a half, four standard deviations above the mean in the one in 5,000, one in 10,000 class” (Summers, 2005). Summers is making the point that we should analyze the dataset that produces this type of result, rather than saying it’s all because of discrimination. Summers does not deny that discrimination exists, but he argues it cannot explain every difference. While there are more women in science and math based majors than ever before, fewer of them are in the top research positions that require the most demanding work and longest hours. Summers was strongly criticized and forced to resign as president of Harvard.

    Read More

  • Taking Responsibility: Women in STEM Fields

    2654 Words  | 6 Pages

    Wang, Ming-Te, Jacquelynne S. Eccles, and Sarah Kenny. "Not Lack Of Ability But More Choice: Individual And Gender Differences In Choice Of Careers In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics." Psychological Science (Sage Publications Inc.) 24.5 (2013): 771, 774. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Stereotypes

    481 Words  | 1 Pages

    RaStereotyping is a way of thinking about groups of people. It ignores the differences of the group, while emphasizing its similarity. One belief, that is a stereotype, is that red-haired people are hot tempered. Another belief is that Scottish people are stingy. Such thinking ignores many even-tempered redheads and generous Scottish people. Stereotyping emphasizes many differences between groups while ignoring their similarities to other people. It ignores that many blond and brown-haired people also lose their tempers. Stereotyping overlooks the fact that many American, Brazilians and French people are stingy.

    Read More

  • Difference Between STEM And SET Fields

    1915 Words  | 4 Pages

    STEM and SET fields are traditionally male dominated and women often find them difficult to break into. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. These fields are often grouped together for studies. SET is the other acronym used and it stands for science, technology, and engineering. While progress has been made women are still significantly underrepresented. Technology, unlike the other STEM/SET fields, is filled with many more male employees especially when it comes to leadership positions. This has happened due to a mix of choices and outside forces, visibility, and hiring procedures.

    Read More

  • Human Gender and Mathematics

    1397 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...athematics and science. If the above statement holds true, women were considered inferior to men in these areas because they weren’t schooled at a higher level. In today’s world, women are schooled at the same level as men are, which leads them to participate and excel in these fields. Lastly, female mathematicians have the same capabilities of male mathematicians because they made amazing and important discoveries in mathematics, have stuck up for their gender rights, and most important of all, were accepted by their male counterparts as equal.

    Read More

  • Gender Meditation Analysis: Gender Bias In Stem Careers

    1207 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Sexist discrimination in STEM is such incredibly old news that it is a serious wonder we have not discovered the words “Women cannot be trusted to add” in cave paintings.”(JR Thorpe)

    Read More

  • Gender Differences In Education In Australia Essay

    502 Words  | 2 Pages

    Likewise, a report from the University of Melbourne in Australia indicated that only 25% of women graduates in these STEM fields (Barden 2016). The reason is

    Read More

  • Essay On Media Literacy

    967 Words  | 2 Pages

    Furthermore, another gender stereotype that has a detrimental impact is education opportunities for women. The stereotype that characterizes women as caregivers rather than leaders further deprives women from continuing their education. This stereotype gives society an image that women work best in caring professionals such as nursing, social work, or teaching, and should not be the one who are involved in sciences or engineering fields. In other words, women are rarely depicted as computer savvy. This stereotype of women has negatively motivated women to make wrong career decisions. According to the American Association of University Women, men outnumber women in nearly every science, computing, and engineering field, and in some, such as

    Read More

  • Inequalities In STEM

    1907 Words  | 4 Pages

    Inequality is deeply rooted in the world. Despite all our efforts to create an equal world, the racist and sexist ideas of the past still hang over our heads. On the surface everything seems to be fine yet they still problems for us since the ideas remain rooted so deeply into the minds of many. This is especially true in the case of women. While we made great strides in women’s rights women cannot achieve the same greatness with the same ease as males because stereotypes and stigma still give many young girls, as well as some adults, the idea that we are not talented or smart enough to get an education or career particularly in science, technology, engineering, or math despite the abundance of job opportunities in STEM. Society needs work toward eliminating these negative stereotypes that prevent girls from breaking into STEM fields since the need for more people take on a STEM career is increasing.

    Read More

  • What Is The Gender Gap In STEM

    1702 Words  | 4 Pages

    Parents and educators both display actions that could be and continue to affect the gender gap in STEM. By parents not giving both their sons and daughters an equal to the questions they ask, it supports the idea of why there is a lack of women in these areas of study. Female teachers also may be openly expressing their struggles with math and other similar areas have negatively affected the gap in STEM today. Direct biases and unconscious biases are both reasons that lead to a gap in these areas. But as female teenagers mature and grow older, they have different wants than men do when they grow

    Read More

  • Women and Engineering

    1367 Words  | 3 Pages

    Carol B. Muller, “The Underrepresentation of Women in Engineering and Related Sciences: Pursuing Two Complementary Paths to Parity.” National Academies Press (US); Web. 2003.

    Read More

  • Underrepresentation Of Women

    498 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Mathematics a similar increase happened, from 4% in 2001 to 11% in 2014. In some fields like Physics, the number of women in that field didn’t increase much, only 1% in a period of 13 years. Science is already successful but I strongly disagree that women participating more in science won’t make a progress, even though the number of female scientists

    Read More

  • Gender Gap In STEM

    995 Words  | 2 Pages

    This bias favoring men makes it difficult for women to pursue a career in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields; beginning in their college years, women face many obstacles and setbacks in their pursuit of a STEM career. However, the government is beginning to aid women in STEM fields

    Read More

  • Rose Guilbault's 'The Untranslatable Word Macho'

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    Girls are seen as caring, nurturing, quiet, and helpful. They place other’s needs above their own. Girls get ahead by hard work, not by being naturally gifted. Boys are seen as lazy, but girls are seen as not capable. In class, teacher will call on boys more than they call on girls. Boys are seen as better at math and science; while girls are better at reading and art. This bias is still at work even out of the classroom. There are more males employed at computer firms than women. The ratio of male to female workers in STEM fields is 3-1. In college, more women major in the humanities than in the sciences. In education, women are often seen as lesser than; even though 65% of all college degrees are earned by women. Women are still often seen as needing to be more decorative than intellectual, as represented by the Barbie who included the phrase, “Math is hard!” and the shirt that JC Penneys sold that said, “I’m too pretty to do homework, so my brother has to do it for me.” While there was a backlash on both items, it points out that there is a great deal of work to do on the educational gender bias to be

    Read More

  • Women and Mathematics

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    Call me a bigot if you want but men are better mathematicians than women. Year after year, men score higher on the SAT’s, more men receive prestigious educations from the best technical schools in the nation, and men obtain more degrees, secure more jobs and get promoted more often. “The ETS report on students taking the SAT examinations indicates that males have traditionally scored 40-50 points higher on the mathematics section” (Women) “In 1996, California Institute of Technology’s enrollment was 75% male, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s enrollment was 62% male, Renssalear Polytechnic Institute’s enrollment was 77% male, Rochester Institute of Technology’s enrollment was is 68% male, and Worchester Institute of Technology’s enrollment was 79% male” (Baron’s). The future for women who enter the work place as mathematicians is no more encouraging. “Roughly three times as many women are unemployed and six times as many women are in part time positions. The female mathematicians who acquire these full time jobs are less likely than men to be promoted to a position such as full or associate professor” (awm-math.org). Females’ lack of success as mathematicians has nothing to do with their mathematical potential. The reason females do not excel in mathematical fields can be explained by high school course selection, social pressures and support and not by genetic differences.

    Read More

More about STEM Stereotypes

Open Document