C

C

B

Some STEM fields, typically those that are more mathematics, are stereotyped as masculine fields (physics) whereas others as feminine (biology). In U.S. culture, women are negatively stereotyped as having lower abilities in mathematics and science than men. Knowledge and internalization of these stereotypes may deter women from being interested in pursuing STEM. STEM fields with a particularly masculine culture, such as engineering and physics, may implicitly signal to women that they do not belong. A sense of belonging to a scientific community of scientists and viewing science as important to one's identity predicts pursuing and succeeding in a scientific career. Women may find it difficult to cultivate a sense of belonging when they are immersed in classrooms, laboratories, and workplaces with few or no other women.
Negative stereotypes may also affect girls and women's views of their ability. Girls and boys show similar cognitive capacities and that girls tend to show higher levels of achievement on reading and writing tasks. Yet with advancing grade, and particularly entrance to high school, girls' self-esteem tends to decline and they become more uncertain of their academic abilities. Gender differences in participation in computer science, engineering, and physics are evident in high school and continues in college. Interestingly, prior achievement in math and science is not related to gender gaps in science fields, suggesting that women who choose nonscience majors are not less skilled in these areas.
Young women's ambivalence may be exacerbated by debates raised in recent years regarding whether women's professional success is incompatible with career success. As female undergraduate and graduate students advance in their programs, they become more pessimistic about the compatibility of STEM careers and having a family. Some studies suggest that parenthood had a negative effect on women's career success, especially when women give birth to their first child around the same time they enter their careers, whereas men's career success tends to be independent of parenthood. While male and female students in top mathematics and science graduate programs rate having a flexible schedule and limited work hours as equally important at age 25, the importance of these factors increases for women-but not men-over time. As women progress in their education, the work/family conflict may become a bigger deterrent to STEM careers.

A

A