This month we are featuring research on the impacts of sexism, discrimination, and exclusion on the experience of female learners. New research from Georgia State University explores the differences in gender-based discrimination between STEM and non-STEM programs. Co-author Leah Daigle, a professor in Georgia State’s Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, says, “If you see an equal number of women and men in your classes, you might think that, by definition, the women are being treated fairly. But that’s not what our study shows. It should be a wake-up call for people to realize that even when people are not in the minority in a group, they can still be at risk for discrimination and harm.”
From the Abstract: “Results indicated that women majoring in STEM disciplines that are gender balanced reported more SV victimization in the form of sexual coercion, attempted sexual coercion, attempted rape, and rape compared to their peers in both gender-balanced and male-dominated non-STEM and male-dominated STEM majors.”
The full article can be found at:
Reidy, D. E., Salazar, L. F., Baumler, E., Wood, L., & Daigle, L. E. (2023). Sexual Violence against Women in STEM: A Test of Backlash Theory Among Undergraduate Women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 38(13–14), 8357–8376. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605231155124
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08862605231155124
