Exploring Indian Views on the underrepresentation of female teenagers in STEM

Abstract

Only 15% to 20% of tenured faculty at Indian universities are women, while 14% of employed researchers in STEM fields are women. To investigate reasons for this problem, the present research study was conducted to gather data for Indian respondents’ perceptions of the reasons for understanding of the women underrepresentation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields, focusing on female teenagers. The study asked respondents to rate the overall underrepresentation and the importance of different factors on a scale of 1 to 7, along with their own explanations and suggestions. The study found that the most important factor to explain the underrepresentation was Poverty, followed by Parent’s Traditional values. In contrast, the least important factors were Feminine Attributes and the idea that female teenagers wanted to avoid the male field, while Absorb Stereotypes (the idea that female teenagers subconsciously take in stereotypes of STEM being a male field), Teacher’s Discouragement and Less Confidence were given ratings closer to the middle. Additional factors suggested by respondents included females having to take care of family responsibilities and lack of role models in STEM fields. This suggests Indians have increased awareness of the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields.