Presenter(s): Zige Zhao − Educational Foundations
Co Presenter(s): Mengfan Zhai
Faculty Mentor(s): Jenefer Husman
Poster 105
Research Area: Motivation on Learning: Gender/Belongingness/STEM
In 2013, the gender gap in STEM was nearly the same as it was in the 1960s (Hill et al., 2010) (As cite by Crenshaw, 2017). We argue social belongingness (SB) – a basic human emotional and psychological need for perceiving acceptance in some social group or setting (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Leary & Baumeister, 2000) – is essential to understand these persistent gender disparities and make the change with tested and potential solutions. We conducted a systematic online review of the research on Social Belongingness Theory (SBT) and women in STEM for the purpose of addressing gender equity by searching the keywords “gender”, “belonging”, “STEM”, and “stereotype” on Web of Science and Google Scholar. We categorized 20 articles into “Why” SBT is important and “How” increase SB promotes female participation in STEM. We found social belongingness affects women’s persistence in STEM (Lewis, 2017), and women’s STEM interests (Dustin, 2013). We also found that lower belongingness among women is due to: generally feeling unwelcome in STEM (Settles, 2006); lack of early exposure to STEM experiences (Cheryan, 2017); and lack of female representation (Hill, 2010). Several articles provide data-based solutions and suggestions on improving belongingness of women in STEM, including: Having female peer mentors during the early college years (Dennehy, 2017); increased positive feedback from male authorities (Park, 2017); greater emphasis on effort as expected and normal to achieve success enhancing female’s feeling of belonging (Smith, 2013); improving perceived identity compatibility (London, 2011); and receiving support from equity sources (Rosenthal, 2011).