Since 1903, the Nobel Prize has been awarded just 15 times to women in scientific topics. Today, women make up about half of the U.S. workforce but hold less than 25 percent of jobs in science, technology, engineering and math.
The lack of women with careers in STEM – as those fields are known – is often attributed to the stereotype that men are just better suited to be scientists. When gender is emphasized, women face “stereotype threat,” where being aware of a stereotype makes them more likely to fall victim to it.
“Social stereotypes are very resistant to change,” said Janet Hyde, a psychology and women’s studies professor at the University of Wisconsin. “The stereotype has a historical origin that isn’t relevant today, but it just persists.”
Efforts to get more girls interested in science are working to remedy these assumptions and reduce the gender gap in STEM fields. Here are some common myths about women in science. The most basic way to get more girls interested in science is by reaffirming that these stereotypes are false.
MYTH: Women are discriminated against in the science fields
A Cornell University study analyzing data from the past 20 years disproved claims that women are discriminated against in study reviewing, interviewing, hiring and funding. “If uncritically accepted as current causes of women’s lack of progress, (these assumptions) can delay or prevent understanding of contemporary determinants of women’s underrepresentation,” according to the February 2011 report.
While there are disproportionately more men than women in the STEM fields, it’s more likely that this is because women find it difficult to balance work and family life while pursuing science careers, which often require additional years of training than other jobs.
“This situation is caused mainly by women’s choices, both freely made and constrained by biology and society, such as choices to defer careers to raise children, follow spouses’ career moves, care for elderly parents, limit job searches geographically, and enhance work-home balance,” the study said.
Hyde said it depends on the individual universities or departments, but you will still have some people left over “from the dark ages,” who might discourage women in science and math.
“For example, a high school guidance counselor would tell (female students) that they weren’t going to succeed in the area, or a faculty member might be surprised if they do well in exams,”
she said.
These unconscious biases are difficult to get past, but Alice Popejoy, public policy fellow with the Association for Women in Science, said that this might lead girls to get the impression that science is not for them.
Overt discrimination is a thing of the past, however.
“With the passage of Title IX in 1972, that became illegal,” she said. “That type of discrimination is not only illegal, but also frowned upon.”
MYTH: Girls are naturally less interested in math and science than boys
Reporting data among fourth graders showing interest in math and science, the National Center for Education Statistics found that about the same amount of boys and girls say they like these subjects — about two thirds. The data showed that both boys and girls lose interest in science during middle and high school, though more girls are dissuaded from the field. Still, about 48 percent of bachelor’s degrees in mathematics go to women.
“Girls are taking high school calculus at the same rate that boys are, so it’s hard to believe that they are lacking the self confidence,” Hyde said.
MYTH: Boys have an innate aptitude for math/science
From elementary school through high school, girls often score higher than boys on standardized math and science tests.
“The reality is that science just does not support that claim,” Popejoy said. “Across the board, there is no gender difference in terms of aptitude for math and science.”
But boys do have better “spatial perception” than girls, which is key for them becoming engineers. Girls have a harder time with spatial perception, such as visualizing a 3D object.
A study by the American Association for University Women suggested that more spatial perception classes for young girls would help women have an easier time approaching STEM careers when they get older.
“If girls grow up in an environment that cultivates their success in science and math with spatial skills training, they are more likely to develop their skills as well as their confidence and consider a future in a STEM field,” the report said.