‘95% of the time things have been okay’: the experience of undergraduate students in science disciplines with higher female representation

Research has shown that achieving gender equality in science goes beyond equal gender ratios in the classroom. Female students in science disciplines with relatively higher female participation rates (e.g. biology and chemistry) still experience similar gender issues as students in male-dominated science disciplines (e.g. physics and mathematics). Yet, when studying gender inequality in science, these so-called ‘gender-balanced’ disciplines are frequently ignored. This study aimed to investigate gender issues for students in biology and chemistry and explore how these experiences were impacting their persistence in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational and career pipeline. Findings showed that both male and female students commonly believed that issues of gender were restricted to the male-dominated science disciplines. However, female students still reported experiences of gender bias, commonly through the form of implicit discrimination. The importance of the affective domains was also highlighted, with science identity and belonging impacting the female student experience and their intentions to persist in the sciences. Results from this study suggest further work is needed in ‘gender-balanced’ science disciplines, specifically in the emotional domains of science identity and belonging. This research may help educators develop more effective intervention programmes for increasing women’s persistence in the STEM pipeline.

研究表明，实现科学领域的性别平等，绝非仅靠课堂内的性别比例均等就能达成。即便在女性参与率相对较高的理科学科（如生物学、化学）中，女性学生仍会遭遇与男性主导的理科学科（如物理学、数学）学生类似的性别议题。然而，在探讨科学领域的性别不平等问题时，这些所谓的“性别均衡”学科往往遭到忽视。本研究旨在探究生物学与化学领域学生面临的性别议题，并剖析此类经历如何影响其在科学、技术、工程与数学（STEM）教育与职业通道中的持续参与意愿。研究结果显示，男女学生普遍认为性别议题仅存在于男性主导的理科学科中，但女性学生仍自述遭遇了以隐性歧视为主要表现形式的性别偏见。本研究同时凸显了情感领域的重要性：科学身份认同与归属感会影响女性学生的就读体验，以及其继续投身科学领域的意愿。本研究结果表明，针对“性别均衡”理科学科的相关工作仍有待加强，尤其是在科学身份认同与归属感这类情感领域层面。本研究可为教育工作者开发更有效的干预方案提供参考，以提升女性群体在STEM职业通道中的持续参与度。