WHAT DO STEM CLUBS DO? THE EFFECT OF COLLEGE CLUB PARTICIPATION ON CAREER CONFIDENCE AND MODERN SEXISM

Abstract

Literature on STEM's "chilly climate" shows that minoritized students attrite from the STEM labor force faster than White and Asian men following graduation. Demand side theories posit that this lack of diversity is the result of unwelcoming work environments relative to opportunities outside of STEM, while supply side theories argue that women in particular lack confidence to persist in STEM coursework and in the STEM labor force. We hold that educational experiences help shape both who pursues a STEM career and what ensuing climate difficulties persist in STEM work settings. We show that STEM college clubs are important sites of cultural capital development associated with students' attitudes toward women's inclusion in the STEM workforce. Using data from two large U.S. universities, we find that student involvement in honorific clubs, where membership is based on achievement, and affinity clubs, where membership is based on common identities or interests, are associated with a decrease in sexist attitudes for most groups. Our intersectional analysis, however, reveals that the association between club involvement and sexist attitudes differs by the type of club, and by respondents' race, gender, and field of study, revealing subgroups of men for whom club involvement is associated with increased levels of hostile sexism. We find that club involvement has no effect on members' confidence in crafting a successful career and thus does not at present reduce gender disparities in career confidence. This research suggests closer scrutiny of the "hidden curriculum" of extracurricular STEM activities.