STEM/Non-STEM Divide Structures Undergraduate Beliefs About Gender and Talent in Academia

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Psychology
• Sociology

Background:

• Female underrepresentation in academia, particularly in STEM fields, is a widely discussed issue.
• Recent research suggests a unifying explanation for gender representation across STEM and non-STEM disciplines.
• The field-specific ability beliefs (FAB) hypothesis proposes that stereotypes linking men with intellectual talent and academic beliefs about required talent contribute to female underrepresentation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the top-down transmission of field-specific ability beliefs from academics to undergraduates.
• To investigate the relationship between undergraduate beliefs about gender and talent in academic fields.
• To examine the influence of explicit gender ratio information on undergraduate perceptions of academic fields.

Main Methods:

• A nationwide survey of U.S. academics was used to establish baseline beliefs about talent requirements in different fields.
• A nationwide survey of U.S. undergraduates assessed their beliefs about talent in academia, mirroring the academics' survey.
• A second, identical undergraduate survey included explicit information about each field's gender ratio to test its impact on beliefs.

Main Results:

• No evidence was found to support the transmission of academics' beliefs about field-specific ability requirements to undergraduates.
• Undergraduate beliefs about the brilliance needed for academic success were highly sensitive to explicit gender ratio information in non-STEM fields.
• This sensitivity to gender ratio information was not observed in STEM fields, suggesting a different dynamic at play.

Conclusions:

• Contrary to the FAB hypothesis, the STEM/non-STEM divide appears to be the primary factor shaping undergraduate beliefs about gender and talent in academia.
• The findings suggest that undergraduate perceptions are more influenced by readily available information about field gender ratios than by potentially transmitted beliefs from academics.
• This study highlights the distinct ways in which gender representation and perceived talent requirements are understood across different academic disciplines by students.