Exploring the Psychology Behind the STEM Gender Gap: Correlations Among Mindset, Math Anxiety, and Stereotypical Beliefs About Women

Abstract

Why do women tend to be underrepresented in STEM college majors and math-intensive careers? Starting in elementary school, girls, regardless of IQ, are more likely to endorse a fixed mindset than their male counterparts (Murphy & Thomas, 2008). Students with fixed mindsets are less likely to embrace new challenges, so fixed mindsets among women could be a leading cause of the clear underrepresentation of women in STEM. Despite making up half the population and workforce, women only make up 24% of STEM jobs (“Women in STEM,” 2017).

There have been few experiments relating mindsets and gender stereotypes; it is the goal of this study to further understand the correlational relationship between these two. This paper will explain a rationale for increasing the population of women in STEM, discuss previous studies and their implications for this study’s findings, explore historical data related to the math gender gap in New Jersey (as a case study) and explore the protocol and findings of the present research investigation aimed at shedding light on the phenomenon of interest.

Here, I investigate the correlational relationship among academic mindset, math anxiety, and explicit and implicit perceptions of gender bias in STEM in students at two New Jersey high schools. The aim is to better understand what is discouraging women from pursuing math-intensive majors and careers and to determine whether mindset interventions can help alleviate this gap. While the origins of the gap can be attributed to many factors, such as hiring practices and cultural norms, this paper will solely focus on the impact of psychological interventions for women in STEM.

The results demonstrate that fixed mindsets are positively correlated with endorsing gender stereotypes about women in STEM while the opposite is true of growth mindsets; this means that growth mindset interventions may be one viable solution to the gender gap in STEM. Extrapolating from these findings, perhaps mindset interventions could positively affect the number of women in STEM, and they could also change how women are treated throughout their careers. Fewer stereotypes about women can benefit women and men while encouraging growth mindsets can help more students reach their full potential and learn to enjoy a challenge.