Unmasking Bias: The Detrimental Impact of Early Gender-Interest Stereotypes
Internalized gender stereotypes can discourage girls from pursuing computer science and engineering, contributing to greater gender disparities in these fields.
Societal stereotypes perpetuate the harmful notion that young girls are disinterested in computer science and engineering fields. Master et al. (2021) investigated whether school-aged children believed these stereotypes and how these biases influenced young girls’ willingness to explore computer science- and engineering-related activities.
Four studies were included in this research paper. Studies 1 and 2 analyzed survey data from children in grades 3–7 and 1–12, respectively, to determine if they had internalized gender-interest stereotypes favoring boys. Studies 3 and 4 experimentally examined whether the presence of gender-interest stereotypes had a causal relationship with the interest levels of young girls pursuing novel activities to which they had no previous exposure. For each new activity, two descriptions were presented: one with a gender-interest stereotype favoring boys, and the other with no stereotype.
Across diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, the studies concluded that children had internalized gender-interest stereotypes, leading to young girls lacking a sense of belonging within these fields. Consequently, young girls expressed less interest in and motivation to further explore activities associated with stereotypes, resulting in a gender gap as boys’ interest remained unaffected.
The study revealed that gender-interest stereotypes negatively shape young girls’ perceptions of computer science and engineering fields. The lack of a sense of belonging may have contribute to girls’ conformity to said stereotypes. The authors suggest that educators could implement STEM activities that counter these stereotypes in an attempt to combat these notions before they are ingrained.
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Study Details
Sample size(s): A total sample of 500 to 2,000 children and adolescents aged 6–14 years old.
Participants: Children and adolescents aged 6–14 years old.
Reference:
Master, A., Meltzoff, A. N., Cheryan, S. (2021). Gender stereotypes about interests start early and cause gender disparities in computer science and engineering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(48), 2100030118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2100030118
Summarized by WinSights team member Mariam Hailu
Edited by: Margie Christ, Bilal Rashid
