EXPRESS YOURSELF OR SECURE YOUR FUTURE? CONSTRUCTIONS OF CHOICE AND GENDER GAPS IN STEM FIELDS

Abstract

In many developed societies, women have greater freedom than ever before to engage in academic and professional pursuits of their own choosing. However, gender gaps in representation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields persist. In these settings, which commonly construct academic choice as a means of self-expression, men and women may diverge in their motivation to pursue STEM, because the personal preferences they express through academic choice would bear the imprint of gender stereotypes. In settings that construct academic choice as a means to reach material security, however, men and women alike may be likely to prefer lucrative fields, including STEM. Three studies examined the implications of self-expression and security goals for STEM interest and motivation across genders. Study 1 documented that experimental activation of self-expression goals steered women away from STEM, but led to greater STEM interest among men. However, activation of security goals only affected men’s STEM interest positively. Study 2 partially replicated this pattern for STEM and Business fields using a regulatory focus manipulation. In light of the findings, Study 3 examined whether security goals may be gendered in certain cultural settings, such that they play a larger role in men’s choices than women’s. Indeed, perceived lucrativeness of STEM played a positive role in STEM interest and motivation only among men, and particularly among those who did not find STEM enjoyable. The studies provide initial evidence for the role of constructions of academic choice—as a means of self-expression or material security—in academic interest and motivation, highlighting the sociocultural shaping of academic choices among both women and men.