Gender and STEM: Understanding Segregation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

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Gender and STEM: Understanding Segregation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics $€ social sciences £ ¥ Gender and STEM: Understanding Segregation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Edited by Maria Charles and Sarah Thébaud Printed Edition of the Special Issue Published in Social Sciences www.mdpi.com/journal/socsci Gender and STEM: Understanding Segregation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Gender and STEM: Understanding Segregation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Special Issue Editors Maria Charles Sarah Th´ebaud MDPI • Basel • Beijing • Wuhan • Barcelona • Belgrade Special Issue Editors Maria Charles Sarah Th´ebaud University of California—Santa Barbara University of California—Santa Barbara USA USA Editorial Office MDPI St. Alban-Anlage 66 Basel, Switzerland This is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue published online in the open access journal Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760) from 2017 to 2018 (available at: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/ socsci/special issues/gender and STEM) For citation purposes, cite each article independently as indicated on the article page online and as indicated below: LastName, A.A.; LastName, B.B.; LastName, C.C. Article Title. Journal Name Year, Article Number, Page Range. ISBN 978-3-03897-147-4 (Pbk) ISBN 978-3-03897-148-1 (PDF) Cover image courtesy of Getty Images. Articles in this volume are Open Access and distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. The book taken as a whole is c 2018 MDPI, Basel, Switzerland, distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Table of Contents About the Guest Editors ................................................................................................................................ vii Preface to “Gender and STEM: Understanding Segregation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics” .......................................................................................................................................... ix Introduction and Overview Sarah Thébaud and Maria Charles Segregation, Stereotypes, and STEM Reprinted from: Soc. Sci. 2018, 7, 111; doi:10.3390/socsci7070111 ........................................................... 1 STEM Aspirations Sarah Blanchard Kyte and Catherine Riegle-Crumb Perceptions of the Social Relevance of Science: Exploring the Implications for Gendered Patterns in Expectations of Majoring in STEM Fields Reprinted from: Soc. Sci. 2017, 6, 19; doi:10.3390/socsci6010019 ............................................................. 19 Patricia Wonch Hill, Julia McQuillan, Eli Talbert, Amy Spiegel, G. Robin Gauthier and Judy Diamond Science Possible Selves and the Desire to be a Scientist: Mindsets, Gender Bias, and Confidence during Early Adolescence Reprinted from: Soc. Sci. 2017, 6, 55; doi:10.3390/socsci6020055 ............................................................. 36 Jerry A. Jacobs, Seher Ahmad and Linda J. Sax Planning a Career in Engineering: Parental Effects on Sons and Daughters Reprinted from: Soc. Sci. 2017, 6, 2; doi:10.3390/socsci6010002 ............................................................... 54 Erica S. Weisgram and Amanda B. Diekman Making STEM “Family Friendly”: The Impact of Perceiving Science Careers as Family-Compatible Reprinted from: Soc. Sci. 2017, 6, 61; doi:10.3390/socsci6020061 ............................................................. 79 STEM Education Yingyi Ma and Yan Liu Entry and Degree Attainment in STEM: The Intersection of Gender and Race/Ethnicity Reprinted from: Soc. Sci. 2017, 6, 89; doi:10.3390/socsci6030089 ............................................................. 98 Tanya Sanabria and Andrew Penner Weeded Out? Gendered Responses to Failing Calculus Reprinted from: Soc. Sci. 2017, 6, 47; doi:10.3390/socsci6020047 ............................................................. 115 STEM Transitions Kimberlee A. Shauman Gender Differences in the Early Employment Outcomes of STEM Doctorates Reprinted from: Soc. Sci. 2017, 6, 47; doi:10.3390/socsci6010024 ............................................................. 129 v Sharon Sassler, Katherine Michelmore and Kristin Smith A Tale of Two Majors: Explaining the Gender Gap in STEM Employment among Computer Science and Engineering Degree Holders Reprinted from: Soc. Sci. 2017, 6, 69; doi:10.3390/socsci6030069 ............................................................. 155 Mary Blair-Loy, Laura E. Rogers, Daniela Glaser, Y. L. Anne Wong, Danielle Abraham and Pamela C. Cosman Gender in Engineering Departments: Are There Gender Differences in Interruptions of Academic Job Talks? Reprinted from: Soc. Sci. 2017, 6, 29; doi: 10.3390/socsci6010029 ............................................................ 181 STEM Workplaces Alison T. Wynn and Shelley J. Correll Gendered Perceptions of Cultural and Skill Alignment in Technology Companies Reprinted from: Soc. Sci. 2017, 6, 45; doi:10.3390/socsci6020045 ............................................................. 200 Erin A. Cech and Michelle V. Pham Queer in STEM Organizations: Workplace Disadvantages for LGBT Employees in STEM Related Federal Agencies Reprinted from: Soc. Sci. 2017, 6, 12; doi:10.3390/socsci6010012 ............................................................. 228 Joya Misra, Laurel Smith-Doerr, Nilanjana Dasgupta, Gabriela Weaver and Jennifer Normanly Collaboration and Gender Equity among Academic Scientists Reprinted from: Soc. Sci. 2017, 6, 25; doi:10.3390/socsci6010025 ............................................................. 250 vi About the Special Issue Editors Maria Charles is Professor of Sociology, Director of the Broom Center for Demography, and faculty affiliate of the Feminist Studies Department at the University of California—Santa Barbara. Her research explores gender inequalities around the world and the cultural and structural forces that sustain them in families, educational systems, and labor markets. Charles is an elected member of the Sociological Research Association and recipient of multiple research grants and awards, including the Max Weber Award for Occupational Ghettos: The Worldwide Segregation of Women and Men (with David Grusky, Stanford University Press), and the Distinguished Article Award from the American Sociological Association’s Sex and Gender Section for “Indulging our Gendered Selves? Sex Segregation by Field of Study in 44 Countries (with Karen Bradley, American Journal of Sociology). Charles received a Ph.D. in Sociology from Stanford University. Sarah Th´ebaud is Associate Professor of Sociology and faculty affiliate of the Broom Center for Demography and the Technology Management Program at the University of California—Santa Barbara. Her current research examines how organizational practices and stereotypic beliefs about men’s and women’s traits and abilities matter for understanding phenomena such as men’s overrepresentation in entrepreneurship, science, and engineering, the gender division of household labor, and gender gaps in workplace authority. Thebaud’s´ research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the Kauffman Foundation, among others, and has appeared in academic journals such as the American Sociological Review , Administrative Science Quarterly, Gender & Society , and Social Forces . It has also been featured by several national and international media outlets. Thebaud´ received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Cornell University. vii Preface to ”Gender and STEM: Understanding Segregation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics” This volume features thirteen original chapters on the causes and consequences of gender segregation in scientific, technical, engineering, and mathematics (“STEM”) occupations and fields of study. Although women have made great strides in equalizing access to labor markets and higher education, many STEM fields—particularly in the physical sciences and engineering—remain strongholds of gender segregation in the United States and other reputably gender-progressive societies. Policymakers, business leaders and activists have launched countless initiatives to diversify access to lucrative, high status occupations and ameliorate labor shortages that diminish innovation and competitiveness. Contributors to this volume apply diverse theoretical lenses and methodological approaches to understand the individual, interactional, organizational, and cultural dynamics that drive this segregation in the United States. Results show that the gender composition of scientific and technical fields varies a great deal over time and across organizational contexts and socio-demographic groups defined by race, ethnicity, class, and sexuality. But despite this variability, STEM work and STEM workers in the United States are widely presumed to be naturally and inevitably masculine. Research presented here reveals how these stereotypes combine with cultural beliefs about natural and fundamental differences between men and women to produce gendered aspirations and reinforce inequalities in the US scientific and technical workforce. The book is divided into five sections. In the introductory section, we review diverse theoretical accounts of occupational gender segregation and consider how they accord with the available evidence on
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