WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY IN STEM
Although the mountain of molehills facing women considering a career or even a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field can be daunting, we believe you can make a difference. On this page, we’ll give examples of some things we can do as educators to help balance the gender gap. Because our focus is on improving the proportion of women completing undergraduate degrees in STEM programs, we give recommendations for promoting gender equality in the university classroom as well as steps we can take beyond the classroom to attract and retain women in STEM majors.
IN THE UNIVERSITY CLASSROOM
As educators we have an incredible opportunity to cultivate students' interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. We appeal to different demographics with the examples we use to motivate or illustrate a given concept. Whether consciously or unconsciously, we also send a message about whose contributions to a given field we value with the work we cite and the language we use. Below we give a broad list of ideas you might implement the next time you teach to promote gender equity in the classroom.
COURSE PREPARATION
Give a pre-course survey to collect information on students' time and resource constraints and use this data to choose office hours and assignment deadlines, etc. (Killpack and Melon 2016)
Divide large classes into tracks by previous experience so that experts can move quickly and newbies don't feel out of their depth. (See Harvey Mudd's Computer Science program)
Seek out a gender-neutral textbook that cites women's contributions to STEM, uses gender-inclusive pronouns, and draws connections to real-life applications (Brotman and Moore 2008)
IN LECTURE
Raise awareness about implicit gender bias in math and science so that it can be counteracted (eg. point out that men and women perform similarly in almost every STEM field) (Hill et al 2010) --OR-- Avoid situations in which students are primed to think about membership in a negatively stereotyped group (Killpack and Melon 2016)
Reference work published by women (Hill et al 2010)
Assign female first-authored readings
Invite female guest speakers
Use gender-inclusive language when discussing occupational roles (Wiest 2014)
Discuss the relevance of STEM fields to real-life applications, particularly social applications (Diekman et al 2010; Hill et al 2010; McClean 2015)
Emphasize that students can improve skills and understanding with effort and perseverance (McClean 2015)
Incorporate interdisciplinary research and scholarship (Linley and George-Jackson 2013)
WHEN GRADING
Hide students' names when grading (Use de-identified documents) (Wiest 2014)
Use pre-defined rubrics to the extent possible (Wiest 2014)
Make performance standards and expectations clear (eg. "If you got above an 80 on this test, you are doing a great job.") (Hill et al 2010)
In large lectures with multiple teaching assistants (TAs), have TAs grade work by students they do not teach (V. Woods, pers comm.)
CRAFTING ASSIGNMENTS AND IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES
For group work, use mixed-gender groups, but make sure that mixed groups include at least two women, even if it means some groups are all men. (Wiest 2014)
Encourage students to reflect positively on their achievements throughout the course, for example through writing minute papers (Diekman et al 2010; Killpack and Melon 2016)
Design projects to emulate real-life applications, particularly ones centered on improving society (Hill et al 2010; McClean 2015)
Incorporate interdisciplinary projects (Linley and George-Jackson 2013)
UNIVERSITIES BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
Many women drift out of the STEM pipeline for reasons that have nothing to do with their competence. Achieving gender equity in STEM fields will require a cultural shift in how we think about what makes a good scientist (Hill et al 2010; Rosen 2017). Men and women both must take up the charge to make change happen. Our focus on this wiki is increasing the participation of women in STEM fields at the undergraduate level, particularly what we can do as educators to help achieve equity, but it is clear that this is not a problem that can be solved in the university classroom alone. We must address the whole pipeline from kindergarten through career placement.
ENHANCE VISIBILITY OF WOMEN AND WOMEN'S ISSUES
Celebrate women's accomplishments
Expose students to female role models in STEM
Highlight the under-representation of women in STEM and its causes
Talk about the women and girls achieving in STEM subjects and fields
Point out the lack of difference in performance by gender in nearly every subject to combat stereotype threat
BUILD A SUPPORT NETWORK FOR WOMEN
(Hill et al 2010; Ramsey et al 2013; Dagley et al 2015; Laursen et al 2015; Rincón and George-Jackson 2016)
Provide opportunities for mentorship
Make sure women take advantage of mentorship opportunities
Check in with mentees regularly
Create structured peer networks targeting underrepresented groups in STEM to provide social support
ENCOURAGE WOMEN TO PURSUE DEGREES AND CAREERS IN STEM
Actively recruit women into STEM majors
Offer introductory courses that appeal to students with different levels of background or preparation in STEM majors
Sponsor seminars, lunches, and social events to help integrate women into the department
Ensure that no student click dominates or becomes the ideal way of "being" in a STEM major
Provide a welcoming student lounge open to all students to encourage interaction outside of class
Sponsor a "women in (STEM major)" group
Write strong letters of recommendation for both women and men
Help students identify career-relevant skills
ENGAGE IN INCLUSIVE RECRUITING AND HIRING PRACTICES TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN FEMALE FACULTY
Require diversity training for all hiring committees
Broaden search pools
Evaluate job applications using de-identified documents
Create equitable tenure and promotion policies
Support flexible work arrangements and other family-friendly accommodations
Support faculty work-life balance
Support dual-career couples
Invite female visiting scholars
Provide faculty professional development programs they need to succeed
Provide grants to individual faculty to support scholarly projects during personal challenges or transitions
Create clear criteria for success and transparency in advancement decisions
Conduct departmental reviews to assess climate for female faculty
Ensure mentoring for all faculty
Create university-wide diversity iniatives, rather than relying on iniatives housed in a single department or under a single administrator
IMPROVE YOUR MULTICULTURAL COMPETENCY
Learn about your own biases by taking an Implicit Association Test (IAT)
Keep your biases in mind
Do not assume multicultural competency of yourself or others
Seek out diversity trainings
Check out our resources page to learn more about women in STEM.