Women are vastly underrepresented in STEM professions and this disparity is hurting the industry.
But why are women less likely to pursue and stay in STEM careers? While research points to a range of factors, from internalized gender stereotypes to systemic hiring bias, our understanding continues to evolve.
A recent study co-authored by Waterloo Psychology Professor Hilary Bergsieker identified a previously overlooked factor affecting women’s satisfaction in STEM careers: positive workplace social relationships. The study, Mapping Social Exclusion in STEM to Men’s Implicit Bias and Women’s Career Costs, found that women reported greater job satisfaction in positions where they had positive social interactions with their male colleagues.
“Merely working in a mixed-gender team—or even feeling respected as highly competent by men—is not sufficient to protect women from the psychological costs of experiencing social exclusion from male coworkers,” Bergsieker said. “When women and men have ample opportunity to interact informally and forge workplace friendships, these bonds can meaningfully improve women’s feelings of fit and engagement in STEM fields.”
The two-part study also showed that men who held unconscious gender stereotypes were less likely to socially include women than men.
Read more about the research on Waterloo News.
What do Waterloo stats tell us about women in STEM?
As we build our understanding of the barriers facing women in STEM, it is important to look at statistics to see what they reveal about the current situation.
Women in Computer Science (WiCS) has gathered historical and current statistics about the representation of women and other underrepresented gender identities in computer science in order to understand the current status of women+* in computing and to identify trends. You can find the information here.
Women in Mathematics (WiM) has collected similar statistics.
