Past laboratory work has shown that exposure to similar peers who represent success in STEM (i.e., math-talented female peer role models) can bolster female college students' math performance and STEM experiences. What is less clear is how students at intersecting identities of gender, ethnicity, and math identification differ in their similarity…

We study whether female students benefit from being taught by female professors, and whether such gender match effects differ by class size. We use administrative records of a German public university, covering all programs and courses between 2006 and 2018. We find that gender match effects on student performance are sizable in smaller classes,…

The proportion of women in the IT sector is decreasing. In schools, girls tend to stay away from IT or take on roles in softer activities such as digital safety, social media. Studying and working in IT requires technical skillset. At the same time, the sector would need people with people and organizational skills as well. Technical skills can be…

Engineering outreach programs often portray outreach educators as role models for youth. It is widely believed that introducing youth, especially girls, to potential engineering role models will broaden participation in engineering majors and careers. Based on interviews with and surveys of fourth- and fifth-grade girls participating in an…

The present article discusses female students' perception of the female role models introduced to them during religious education classes in Poland. Besides imparting knowledge, the teaching of religious classes in schools, a part of religious education, aims at shaping attitudes. Therefore, presenting young people with role models who can inspire…

Protecting children and investing in their education and wellbeing can often feel like a battle. The seat that the author now holds at the proverbial education table is crucial in not only developing a well-rounded and well-equipped student body, but it is also in seeing herself as a role model to future leaders--both women and future leaders of…

Exposing women and girls to female role models is considered essential to break down gender-stereotypical beliefs on STEM interest and engagement. However, evidence remains controversial regarding the efficacy of these interventions. Here, we provide a scoping review of fifty-seven empirical studies that considers information about: (1) research…

This paper explores the move towards an all-female teaching force, particularly in the developed world, where men are turning their backs on the profession. It attempts to gather the evidence as to what is affecting men's choice to reject teaching as a career. It explores the possible causes of this change, which has been increasing over the last…

Motivated by ongoing gender disparities in engineering, the authors qualitatively examine how collegiate STEM student organizations serve as affirming spaces for women's engineering identity development, countering their exclusionary classroom environments. Drawing from interviews and written data with 24 undergraduate women, findings demonstrate…

Purpose: Girls are underrepresented in many school science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, leading to ongoing gender disparity in STEM careers. This issue is not new and has seen a range of initiatives implemented in an attempt to increase girls' STEM participation. In Australia, a number of these initiatives have…

The characteristics of early-age children, such as curiosity, creativity, and collaboration, align with the essential attributes of STEM education. Consequently, it is important to examine the perspectives of children's picture books regarding STEM professions (gender, field of study, inferred action, etc.). Children's picture books tailored for…

This study was designed to test how well a commercial intervention with a highly feminized role model (Barbie) worked to improve pre-adolescent girls' interest and performance in computer science. Concurrently, this study examined how overtly feminist texts and images of real women would impact girls compared to the traditional highly feminized…

Math Girls Rock! is a year-long, two-tiered mathematics mentoring program that prepares female undergraduate mentors to facilitate high school girls' engagement in challenging mathematics concepts through a dynamic after-school program. In this article, we describe the distinct educational component of this program in which female faculty members…

This explanatory, sequential mixed-methods case study examined the extent to which participation in a mentoring program affects the sense of self-efficacy of school-age girls of color. The researcher conducted this study in a Title I suburban public elementary school implementing the New York State Mentoring Program (NYSMP) model. The NYSMP…

Many women leave higher education and the workforce due to inadequate support after childbirth, as student affairs units often struggle to create family-friendly environments. The purpose of this narrative inquiry qualitative study was to understand why and how mothers who work in student affairs choose to stay after having children. This study…