The Importance Of Gender Socialization In STEM Fields

The hard sciences (science, technology, engineering, and math) are important to the advancements of a country they keep the advancements of their countries sharp, and a force to be reckoned with, which gives them power. Although STEM fields are crucial for countries to get ahead, there is a societal belief in America, that women are less capable and less qualified than men in these fields. The lack of women in these fields spark the question does gender socialization and perception affect women’s participation and achievement in STEM fields?

Sociologists have studied this topic extensively and most theorists focus on gender socialization to explain this phenomenon. Using the Role Congruity Theory, “when men and women internalize behavioral

Although gender socialization easily helps explain why there is a gender gap in STEM fields it’s important to recognize that this may not be the only explanation. Researchers have also looked at the Embeddedness Theory, which evaluates the factors under Fit, Link,

The researchers conducted focus groups that lasted 60-90 minutes, each participant were paid $25 at the end of the study. The four groups were split into two, each group consisting of one male group and one female group. The first group (one the male and one of the female groups) were told this study was about “learning more about the student experience at the university” (Morganson 2015: 351). The participants were to write their answers to the questions on a note pad first to avoid groupthink. The answers were coded and recorded into subthemes. It was important to have the focus groups split by gender to see the difference in feeling between the two. The Embeddedness Theory is reliant on personal experience which influenced how the researchers conducted the focus groups by gender and had the participants write their answers first.

The results showed that under the category Fit, Passion was the only characteristic that received a unanimous vote from both males and females to stay in STEM coursed. Under fit as well Skill/Aptitude were rated high for men, but not for women, meaning more men felt that they were prepared enough for STEM coursed unlike women. As for the link category having an icon in the media was important for women, but not men. While under sacrifice more women felt they had more prestige to lose than men if they were to ever leave STEM