Do Gender Stereotypes Affect Girls’ Self-Expectation of Working in Sci-Tech? Evidence from China

The role of gender stereotypes in students’ academic performance attracts increasing attention among economists. In this paper, we explore how gender stereotypes among parents can affect students’ maths performance. Using the data on junior high school students from the China Education Panel Survey, we find that when parents believe boys to be better than girls in maths, such a gender stereotype results in perceived difficulty in maths and poor maths performance among girls. Parental gender stereotyping does not change their allocation of educational resources, but rather shapes girls’ gender stereotypes and thereby lowers their academic performance. In contrast, we do not find any significantly negative effects of parental gender role stereotypes among boys.

BackgroundDespite gender similarity in math performance, gender disparities persist in math-related attitudes and STEM aspirations among adolescents globally. To disentangle this puzzle, some studies adopt the dimensional comparison theory to investigate the role of intra-individual comparative advantage across academic subjects, while others focus on the role of social comparison and peer performance in shaping student outcomes. The internal/external (I/E) frame of reference model has acknowledged that both intra-individual and social comparison processes matter. However, most studies measure and investigate the two processes separately, neglecting a potentially integrated comparison process. This study extends these theoretical strands by proposing the Integrated Comparative Advantage (ICA) model, which reveals the effects of an integrated comparison process beyond the separate effects of internal and external comparisons. This study focuses on the Integrated Comparative Math Advantage (ICMA) as a specific application of ICA in math. ResultsUtilizing information on classroom assignment rules from the nationally representative China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) data, this study exploits the quasi-random variation in ICMA. Linear regression models with school-grade fixed effects are used to estimate the ICMA effects on student outcomes controlling for student performance, intra-individual math advantage, and classroom average performance. Results show that boys have a higher ICMA than girls despite having lower performance in all subjects. A higher ICMA could boost student math self-assessment and improve math performance 1 year later. ICMA also exhibits gendered effects: the positive ICMA effects on math self-assessment persist for girls but not boys 1 year later; conversely, ICMA is positively associated with STEM aspirations for boys but not girls. Moreover, girls with a higher ICMA are less likely to endorse or perceive gender-math stereotypes, while it is the opposite for boys.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that intra-individual and social comparisons can jointly shape student attitudes and outcomes in an integrated process beyond their separate effects. Educators should thus be aware of the potential consequences of ability grouping, classroom assignment, and talent programs. Proactive measures can be implemented to directly challenge and dismantle stereotypes associated with the integrated comparative processes.

Effects of stereotype threat on math performance have been well-documented among college women; however, the prevalence among adolescent girls is less well-known. Further, the moderating role of gender identity and effects of stereotype threat on high achieving girls in math is unknown. This study tested the effects of a stereotype threat condition (vs. control group) among middle school girls in standard and honors math classes and examined gender identity as a moderator. Students ( N = 498) completed pre- and post-questionnaires and a math test as part of a stereotype threat experiment. Gender identity moderated effects of stereotype threat on math discounting, disengagement, attitudes, and performance, but whether gender identity was a protective or risk factor differed by math education context (honors math and standard math classes). Gender identity was protective for girls in honors math for attitudes, discounting, and disengagement but was a risk factor for math performance. Gender identity was a risk factor for disengagement and math attitudes among girls in standard math classes, but was a buffer for math performance. Results suggest the need to examine protective and risk properties of gender identity importance for adolescent girls and the need to examine stereotype threat within educational contexts. Stereotype threat can be reduced through interventions; thus, educators and practitioners can collaborate with social scientists to implement widespread interventions in K–12 schools. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ’s website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/0361684317711412 . Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/page/pwq/suppl/index

The impact of gender attitudes toward mathematics (GATM) on female students’ academic performance in math has been extensively explored in the literature. However, studies on its impacts on academic performance in all main courses for both genders, within a unified framework, are rare. This study examines whether and how gender attitude toward math affects students’ math and liberal arts performance in junior high schools in China, by using nationally representative data from the China Education Panel Survey. We measure students’ GATM according to their answers to the survey question, “Do you think boys are better at learning mathematics than girls?”, and find that girls can obtain lower math scores and boys can get higher math scores if they answered yes in the question. For those with a high opportunity to be enrolled in senior high school, it improves liberal arts scores for girls, but reduces liberal arts scores for boys. We also examine several mechanisms with respect to self-concept, effort in math and aspiration beyond math. The findings in this study provide an explanation for the puzzle that girls are increasingly represented in higher education, while a gender wage gap still exists.

Are female teachers more likely to practice grade inflation? Evidence from China

Based on data from China Education Panel Survey, this article examined the impact of teacher gender on student human capital development at the junior secondary education level. The research findings showed that female teachers were more capable of promoting cognitive and non-cognitive ability development of both girl and boy students than their male counterparts; and that student cognitive and non-cognitive performance was significantly and negatively related to the increase in the percentages of male teachers in the class and school.

This study investigates the impact of math-gender stereotypes on students' academic performance using data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS), which surveyed nationally representative middle schools in China. Our sample comprises over 2000 seventh-grade students, with an average age of 13 and a standard deviation of 0.711. Among these students, 52.4% are male, and 47.6% are female. Employing a fixed effects model and instrumental variable, our findings are as follows. First, over half of the male students believe that boys are better at math than girls, and they also perceive that their parents and society hold the same belief. In contrast, fewer than half of the female students hold this belief or perception. Intriguingly, among these students, female math performance surpasses that of males. Second, stereotypes hinder female math performance, especially among low-achieving ones, while benefiting high-achieving male students. Finally, perceptions of societal stereotypes have the greatest effect on math performance, followed by self-stereotypes and perceptions of parental stereotypes. Understanding the implications of these findings highlights the importance of addressing math-gender stereotypes to promote equal participation and success for both genders in STEM fields.

Previous scientific literature has not determined the influence exerted by trainers and teachers of adolescents on the development of gender stereotypes in sport. For this reason, the aims of the present research were to establish differences in gender stereotypes in sport among teachers and trainers as a function of profession and sex and to analyze the influence of age and years of experience of male and female trainers and teachers on the gender stereotypes in sport. For this purpose, 127 teachers and trainers completed the questionnaire “gender beliefs and stereotypes towards physical activity and sport”. The results showed a significantly higher score of the teachers in “beliefs about physical activity and gender” (p = 0.048) and of the trainers in “physical education classes and gender” (p = 0.006). Concerning sex, women showed higher scores in “sport and gender” (p = 0.005), and men in “beliefs about physical activity and gender” (p = 0.045). Regarding covariates, age showed significant differences in “sport and gender” (p = 0.029), with female teachers showing higher values with respect to female trainers and male teachers, while years of experience showed differences in “beliefs about sport and gender” (p = 0.044), with male teachers showing higher values than male trainers and female teachers.

STEM disciplines are traditionally stereotyped as being for men and boys. However, in two preregistered studies of Grades 1 to 12 students in the United States (N = 2,765), we find a significant divergence in students' gender stereotypes about different STEM fields. Gender stereotypes about computer science and engineering more strongly favored boys than did gender stereotypes about math and science. These patterns hold across genders, intersections of gender and race/ethnicity, and two geographical regions. This divergence between different STEM fields was evident, although smaller, for children in elementary school compared to adolescents (students in middle school and high school). The divergence in stereotypes predicted students' divergence in motivation for entering these fields. Gender stereotypes on average slightly favored girls in math and were egalitarian or slightly favored girls in science, while boys remained strongly favored for computer science and engineering, with implications for educational equity and targeted interventions.

Evidence from developed countries shows that there is a significant gender gap in STEM occupations. Girls may begin to underperform in math early as primary school. One possible explanation is the negative stereotype threat towards girls. However, this has been understudied in rural China. In this paper, we describe the math performance gender gap in rural China, compare the gender gap between rural and urban China, and finally compare the Chinese situation with other countries. We further examine possible explanations for the gender gap from comparative perspectives. Using first hand datasets of 3,789 primary students and 12,702 junior high students in China, combing with OECD 2012 PISA survey data, we find that in both rural and urban China, boys outperform girls in math. As students grow older, the gap widens, which is larger than in many other countries. We further find that both the gender gaps in math self-concept and math anxiety and discriminatory family investment towards girls are not sufficient to explain the wide math performance gaps. Our study suggests the inequality of education in rural China still merits concern and calls for further work to explain the observed gender gap in math performance. Acknowledgement : The authors would like to acknowledge the funding of the 111 project (B16031), the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) and the Ford Foundation.

Although gender stereotypes in the STEM fields have been robustly studied, the research targets have rarely included international high school students in China. This study aims to explore how gender stereotypes influence Chinese international high school students' perception of self-competence in STEM majors. Six students of grade 11 in an international school in Hangzhou, China, were interviewed to collect detailed knowledge of their perception of self-competence in STEM fields and the influence their parents, teachers, textbooks and social media have on their ability perception in these fields and career aspirations. The change of which factors may ameliorate the self-competence of high school students will also be analyzed. This study discovered that girls' parents more frequently hold gender-stereotypical opinions regarding girls' abilities in STEM subjects. This stereotype will significantly undermine a girl's self-competence and prevent her from delving deeper into STEM fields. For girls, same-gender teachers typically hold fewer gender stereotypes regarding their STEM capacities and can serve as great STEM role models that inspire and boost girls' confidence. The international students perceived almost no gender stereotypes in their teachers. The learner profiles emphasized by the IB diploma programme in school have helped students develop prominent critical thinking abilities and allowed them to rationally evaluate gender stereotypes related to female STEM competence in social media and textbooks. Based on the results, several suggestions to help eliminate the influence of gender stereotypes regarding STEM competence on students and create an equal development environment for them are also provided.

PurposeStereotypes are simplified and widely shared visions held by a social group regarding a place, object, event or recognizable set of people united by certain characteristics or qualities. They are “dangerous” mental models because they are widely disseminated, devious and capable of acting even unconsciously in individuals, social groups and organizations altering the rationality of assessments and choices and producing discrimination and prejudice. Stereotypes acritically extend from a characteristic of a significant percentage of a category to the totality of individuals. The process of generalization triggered by a stereotype produces the error of discrimination and prejudice. There are numerous forms of stereotypes, but this study takes into account gender stereotypes because they act pervasively, often subtly, to reduce “productivity”. People who are aware of being discriminated perceive an unsatisfactory fulfillment of their motivations, which reduces their incentive to improve their performance. Since productivity measures the efficient use of energy from working in production processes, the author believes that wherever gender stereotypes are at play, there is a productive “waste of energy”, an inefficiency in work activity with harmful effects for organizations of all kinds, including families.Design/methodology/approachThe work aims to demonstrate that wherever gender stereotypes are at play, a “waste of energy” manifests itself in terms of productivity, representing an inefficiency in work activity with harmful effects for organizations of all kinds, including families. To describe the negative effects stereotypes produce in organizations, some models are presented based on the methods and language of systems thinking. These models, although typically qualitative, are capable of exploring the most accepted theories in the literature: tournament theory, the Pygmalion effect, the Galatea effect, self-fulfilling prophecies, the Queen bee syndrome, the role congruency theory, the glass ceiling theory (“think manager, think male” and “family responsibilities wall”). The paper follows a predominantly organizational and corporate approach, although the copious literature on stereotypes belongs largely to the area of social psychology and organization studies.FindingsThe paper does not consider the psychological origin of stereotypes but highlights their use as routines-shortcuts for evaluations and decisions demonstrating that, when adopted in social systems and within organisations, stereotypes produce different forms of discrimination: in social rights, in work, in careers and in access to levels of education and public services, reducing performance and limit potential. The paper also examines some ways gender and culture stereotypes can be opposed, presenting a change management strategy and some concrete solutions proposed by the process–structure–culture model for social change (PSC model).Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitation of the work is that it focuses on gender stereotypes, choosing not to consider the “intersection effect” of these with other stereotypes: racial stereotypes, religious stereotypes, color stereotypes, age stereotypes, sex and sexual orientation stereotypes, and many others, whose joint action can cause serious inefficiencies in organizational work.Practical implicationsAs stereotypes are a component of social culture and are handed down, by use and example, from generation to generation, the maintenance over time of stereotypes used by individuals to evaluate, judge and act can be seen as an effect of the typical action of a combinatory system of diffusion, which can operate for a long time if not effectively opposed. Il PSC model indicates the strategy for carrying out this opposition.Social implicationsWith regard to gender stereotypes, it should be emphasized that in organizations and social systems, “gender diversity” should be considered an opportunity and not as a discriminating factor and thus encouraged by avoiding harmful discrimination. In fact, this diversity, precisely because of the distinctive characteristics individuals possess regardless of gender, can benefit the organization and lead to an increase in organizational and social performance. The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2020) Goal 5: Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls is examined in this context.Originality/valueThis study views the action of gender stereotypes as especially harmful “mental models”, highlighting the distortions they cause in the allocation of productive energy in society, groups and organizations. The paper follows a predominantly organizational and corporate approach, although the copious literature on stereotypes belongs largely to the area of social psychology. Using the “logic” and “language” of systems thinking, theories and models that describe and interpret the distorting effects of organizational choices based on stereotypes rather than rational analysis are highlighted. The action of stereotypes and their persistence over time can also be described using combinatory systems theory. With this paper, the author hopes that by acting on the three wheels of change highlighted by the PSC model, through legal provisions, control tools and actions on the culture operated by educational and social aggregative institutions, it should not be impossible to change the prevailing culture so that it becomes aware of the harmful influence of gender stereotypes and other discriminatory mental models and come to reject them. The author hopes this paper will help to understand the need to make this change.

This study examines the concept of gender, the factors that influence children's perceptions of gender and the reasons for the imbalance between the number of male and female kindergarten teachers. The study found that Children's understanding of gender can be influenced by the behaviour of parents and teachers and by cues from the media. The low salary and low social status of preschool teachers, as well as the constraints of traditional social attitudes, are factors that may lead to a much lower number of male kindergarten teachers than female teachers. Parents and teachers need to remove the influence of gender stereotypes and create a relaxed and positive environment for children to develop their gender awareness. There is a need for the government and educational institutions to improve the salaries and conditions of male and female teachers and to attract more male teachers to the ECE profession, which will help break down gender stereotypes of children.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of gender stereotypes in hiring decisions. Methodology: The study adopted a desktop research methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library. Findings: The findings reveal that there exists a contextual and methodological gap relating to the influence of gender stereotypes in hiring decisions. Preliminary empirical review revealed that gender bias significantly influenced hiring processes, favoring male candidates over equally qualified female candidates. Through an analysis of empirical evidence from various studies conducted by scholars, it was evident that gender stereotypes intersected with other forms of discrimination, such as racial or ethnic bias, exacerbating disparities in employment opportunities, particularly for women of color. Despite increasing awareness of the importance of diversity, gender bias persisted, hindering progress towards gender parity in the workplace. Recommendations included implementing blind recruitment processes and diversity training to address bias and promote transparency in hiring practices, facilitating the creation of more equitable and inclusive workplaces. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Social Role Theory, Ambivalent Sexism theory and Intersectionality theory may be used to anchor future studies on influence of gender stereotypes in hiring decisions. The study provided several recommendations that contributed to theory, practice, and policy. It emphasized the need to raise awareness of gender bias, suggested implementing structural changes like blind recruitment, advocated for diversity and inclusion initiatives, highlighted the role of organizational culture, and called for the involvement of policymakers in addressing systemic barriers. These recommendations aimed to promote fairness, equity, and diversity in employment practices within STEM and beyond, contributing to theoretical understanding, informing practical strategies, and shaping policy interventions.

Debate has continued throughout the last decade over the existence and possible causes of differences between males' and females' mathematical skills. Several observations recur as the focus of this controversy. First, adolescent boys have been found to score higher than girls on standardized mathematics achievement tests.' Second, males are more likely than females to engage in a variety of optional activities related to mathematics, from technical hobbies to careers in which math skills play an important role.2 Third, adolescent males typically perform better than their female