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Gendered virtual environments of STEM fields: a cultural-ecological analysis of predominantly white and historically black institutions

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Abstract

Although many studies have examined gender and racial discrepancies in STEM participation, few have considered variation in the gendered construction of STEM across racial spaces. We applied a cultural psychological perspective to investigate whether variation in conceptions of gender identity across African American and European American settings resonates with variation in gendered constructions of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) domains across predominantly white institutions (PWIs) and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). We further examined implications of engagement with virtual STEM departments across these school categories. In Study 1, independent coders rated website images as less masculine, and evaluated website climates more favorably, for physics and biology departments at HBCUs relative to PWIs. In Studies 2 and 3, we used these website images as stimuli in within- and between-subjects experiments. Participants gave more positive ratings for sense of belonging and perceived climate in response to images from physics departments at HBCUs than at PWIs; women rated physics departments at PWIs as higher in masculinity than those at HBCUs. We replicated these patterns in Study 3, and also found that lower sense of belonging due to exposure to images from PWI physics departments predicted less interest in pursuing STEM fields among women only. We discuss implications of our findings for understanding and addressing gender discrepancies in STEM participation.

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Notes

  1. In total, 37% of the people depicted in PWI images were women, and 40% of the people depicted in HBCU images were women.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Boğaziçi University, Bebek, Istanbul, Turkey

    Nur Soylu Yalcinkaya

  2. Department of Psychology, SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo, NY, USA

    Claire R. Gravelin

  3. Department of Psychology, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA

    Glenn Adams

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  1. Nur Soylu Yalcinkaya
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  2. Claire R. Gravelin
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  3. Glenn Adams
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Correspondence to Nur Soylu Yalcinkaya.

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Soylu Yalcinkaya, N., Gravelin, C.R. & Adams, G. Gendered virtual environments of STEM fields: a cultural-ecological analysis of predominantly white and historically black institutions. Soc Psychol Educ 24, 361–386 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-021-09618-x

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