Gender Gap in STEM

Thesis Statement: The continued gender gap observed in STEM fields is sustained by systemic inequalities like disproportional barriers to entry, sexism at the workplace, and high turnover rates for women in STEM fields, among others. 

Supporting Points: 

The barriers to entry in STEM fields are disproportionately higher when compared to those of men (Cimpian et al., 2020). In other words, it is easier for men to find employment in STEM fields than women, thus contributing to the inequality. 

The turnover rates for women in STEM fields is significantly higher than for men, thus contributing to the growing gender gap (Fouad et al., 2017) 

Sexism as a real issue making it hard for women to pursue careers in STEM. The gender gaps in STEM fields persist because of equity issues (Smith-Castro et al., 2019). 

Annotated Bibliography 

Caranci, B., Judge, K., & Kobelak, O. (2017). Women and STEM: bridging the divide. TD Economics. 

The authors of this article highlighted some contemporary parallels concerning women's progress in the STEM fields. In this report, the authors assessed why women remain underrepresented despite the employment rate growth in these fields. According to the authors, this contradicted the claim that labor markets have increased demand for higher skill levels in these fields (Caranci, Judge & Kobelak, 2017). 

This article is published by TD Economics. The three authors' affiliation with the organization as the Chief Economist, Economic analyst, and coordinator respectively demonstrates their expertise, making this article a credible source. 

The source is relevant and provides an in-depth overview of the critical information relating to the sexism and gender imbalances in women in STEM fields. 

Cimpian, J. R., Kim, T. H., & McDermott, Z. T. (2020). Understanding persistent gender gaps in STEM. Science, 368(6497), 1317-1319. 

In this article, the authors examined gender gaps in the STEM fields and highlighted explanations of the various differences. The authors also highlighted barriers to women causing a disproportionate attraction of low achieving men in these fields. According to the authors, interventions to close the gender gaps will help attract high-achieving women in these fields (Cimpian, Kim & McDermott, 2020). 

The affiliations of the three authors with New York University reputable institutions demonstrate their understanding of the subject. 

The article is relevant to the topic of the gender gap in STEM fields. It highlights the persistent gender gaps in STEM. 

Fouad, N. A., Chang, W. H., Wan, M., & Singh, R. (2017). Women's reasons for leaving the engineering field. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 875. 

This article is crucial and compares the retention of women in STEM fields and those in other areas. Findings of a longitudinal survey tracking 1258 women demonstrated that women in the STEM field are more likely to leave their occupations. The study concluded that marriage and children are significant factors likely to propel these women out of their STEM careers (Fouad, Chang, Wan & Singh, 2017). 

This source is credible, timely, reliable, and contains research based on an accomplished engineer's personal experiences. Fouad and Chang are affiliated with the University of Wisconsin. Wan is affiliated with Texas State University, while Singh is affiliated with the School of Business, University of Wisconsin. 

The article is relevant to the topic since it contains specific information concerning sexism and gender imbalances in women in STEM fields. 

González-González, C. S., García-Holgado, A., & Peixoto, A. (2020). Guest Editorial Diversity and Equity in STEM. IEEE Revista Iberoamericana de Tecnologias del Aprendizaje, 15(3), 202-204. 

This article aims to demonstrate the lack of diversity and equity in STEM fields. This article highlights how schools can help to bridge the gap of women underrepresentation. The authors of this article indicated that encouraging women to specialize in these fields should be considered a priority. This is because female participation in the STEM fields will help strengthen workplace diversity (González-González, García-Holgado & Peixoto, 2020). 

The credibility of this source is demonstrated by the expertise of the authors in the STEM subjects. González-González has a Ph.D. in computer science and currently focuses on researching AL applications. Also, García-Holgado has a bachelor's degree in computer science and a Ph.D. from the University of Salamanca. Peixoto has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, and her research interests include education in STEM. 

This article is relevant to the topic of the gender gap in STEM fields. It highlights the need for interventions to tackle the persistence of equity issues. 

Holman, L., Stuart-Fox, D., & Hauser, C. E. (2018). The gender gap in science: How long until women are equally represented?.  PLoS biology ,  16 (4), e2004956. 

The purpose of this article was to present research related to the gender gap imbalances. The authors of this article argue that despite evidence of steady progress towards achieving gender parity in male-dominated fields, the under-representation of women continues to persist. A study conducted to assess the past, present, and future of women's ratio in various fields of STEMS demonstrated that it might be hard to achieve parity in the future with the current trend continues. According to the authors, additional interventions must be considered to attain this gender balance ( Holman, Stuart-Fox & Hauser, 2018) . 

This source is credible with the three authors affiliated with the School of Biosciences, University of Melbourne. 

The article is relevant to the topic of the gender gap in STEM fields. It portrays the need for interventions to tackle the persistence of equity issues. The intended audience of this article is experts in the STEM field. Therefore, policymakers and other practitioners can use it to make decisions that will improve gender parity issues. 

Smith-Castro, V., Montero-Rojas, E., Moreira-Mora, T. E., & Zamora-Araya, J. A. (2019). Expected and unexpected effects of sexism on women's mathematics performance. Revista Interamericana de Psicología/Interamerican Journal of Psychology, 53(1), 28-44. 

In summary, this article examined both the direct and indirect effects of sexist ideologies and stereotypes on women's academic performance in STEM fields. According to the authors, a study conducted demonstrates these ideologies' internalization and the social-cultural stereotypes that directly impact women's educational outcomes (Smith-Castro, Montero-Rojas, Moreira-Mora & Zamora-Araya, 2019). 

This article is credible, and the authors' organizational affiliations with the Universidad de Costa Rica demonstrate their experience about the subject. 

This source is relevant to the topic and demonstrates the sexism and persistence of gender inequalities in STEM due to the stereotypes. 

Wang, M. T., & Degol, J. L. (2017). Gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM): Current knowledge, implications for practice, policy, and future directions. Educational psychology review, 29(1), 119-140. 

In their article, Wang and Degol highlighted the possible explanations of why women remain underrepresented in STEM fields. According to the authors, gender-related biases and stereotypes are among the main reasons for gender imbalances in these fields. Besides, the authors of this article highly emphasized diversity in the STEM fields and how it can be improved based on evidence. Also, they made recommendations applicable to future research (Wang & Degol, 2017). 

This article's credibility is demonstrated by both authors' affiliation with the University of Pittsburgh. Also, they have published other articles about STEM fields in education. 

This article is relevant to the topic of the gender gap in STEM fields. This article's intended audience is experts in the field who can use the information to improve and implement reforms to attain gender parity. 

WesternGovernorsUniversity. (2020). Why Are There So Few Women In STEM. Western Governors University. Retrieved 1 December 2020, from https://www.wgu.edu/blog/why-are-there-so-few-women-in-stem1907.html . 

This article presents some of the possible reasons for the gender gap in the STEM fields. The author of this article described the lack of role models as one of the causes. They argued that few women going into these fields lack mentorship and role models to follow. On the other hand, sexism is also discussed to be a reason for the inequality gap. Women face sexism and other gender stereotypes, making them feel less confident and comfortable in pursuing these paths. According to the author, understanding the main reasons for this huge gender gap is significant and will help close it (WesternGovernorsUniversity, 2020). 

This source is credible since the article can be found from a publication by a respectable organization, the Western Governors University. 

This article is relevant to the topic of the gender gap in STEM fields. It portrays the need for interventions to tackle the persistence of equity issues. 

References  

Caranci, B., Judge, K., & Kobelak, O. (2017). Women and STEM: bridging the divide. TD Economics. 

Cimpian, J. R., Kim, T. H., & McDermott, Z. T. (2020). Understanding persistent gender gaps in STEM. Science, 368(6497), 1317-1319. 

Fouad, N. A., Chang, W. H., Wan, M., & Singh, R. (2017). Women's reasons for leaving the engineering field. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 875. 

González-González, C. S., García-Holgado, A., & Peixoto, A. (2020). Guest Editorial Diversity and Equity in STEM. IEEE Revista Iberoamericana de Tecnologias del Aprendizaje, 15(3), 202-204. 

Holman, L., Stuart-Fox, D., & Hauser, C. E. (2018). The gender gap in science: How long until women are equally represented?.  PLoS biology ,  16 (4), e2004956. 

Smith-Castro, V., Montero-Rojas, E., Moreira-Mora, T. E., & Zamora-Araya, J. A. (2019). Expected and unexpected effects of sexism on women's mathematics performance. Revista Interamericana de Psicología/Interamerican Journal of Psychology, 53(1), 28-44. 

Wang, M. T., & Degol, J. L. (2017). Gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM): Current knowledge, implications for practice, policy, and future directions. Educational psychology review, 29(1), 119-140. 

WesternGovernorsUniversity. (2020). Why Are There So Few Women In STEM. Western Governors University. Retrieved 1 December 2020, from https://www.wgu.edu/blog/why-are-there-so-few-women-in-stem1907.html .