Abstract
The purpose of this study is to identify and discuss barriers facing females in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The study looks at three developmental stages; first, school life (childhood) stage between the age of 6 and 18, second, university life (adulthood) stage from the age of 18 and 22, and third, professional life (maturity) stage from the age of 22 and above. The main findings are stereotyping and society's perception to women that lead to classification of roles and responsibilities based on gender. Parents and teachers' expectations, parents' profession, and community culture are the most factors that influence the childhood stage. Stereotyping, and low number of females in the classroom are characterized in the adulthood stage. The most important factors in the maturity stage are: (1) bias against women at work, (2) discouraging work environment for women, and (3) childbirth and maternity barriers. Few studies detailed gender barriers in STEM, especially in the region. In the light of these barriers, appropriate suggestions are put forward to overcome such barriers at each stage.Keywords: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Gender, School Life, University Life, Professional LifeJEL Classifications: I20, I24DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijefi.8908
Highlights
Bridging the gender gap is based on the basic premise that no country can truly compete without benefiting from female talents (World Economic Forum, 2017)
This paper aims to identify and discuss these reasons along with barriers through three developmental stages: School life stage, university life stage, and professional life stage
Children learn about gender from early childhood, and the behavior of individuals is determined by beliefs, values, models and attitudes
Summary
Bridging the gender gap is based on the basic premise that no country can truly compete without benefiting from female talents (World Economic Forum, 2017). As the study was conducted in Bahrain, classification of gender population shows that males are 337 thousand (50.7%) of total population, and Bahraini females are 328 thousand (49.3%) (Iga.gov.bh, 2018). Many studies show low contribution of women to economic activity in general and to the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (SETM) in particular. The low level of women contributions can have serious economic consequences, as many specialized organizations in the world have indicated that most future occupations are expected to be in these four fields (Loko and Mame, 2009; Dollar and Gatti, 1999; Metz, 2018)
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