What Holds Girls Back:
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Cultural signals influence on a student’s ability to perform on an exam has long been known. In a frequently cited 1999 study, a sample of University of Michigan students with similarly strong backgrounds and abilities in math were divided into two groups. In the first, the students were told that men perform better on math tests than women; in the second, the students were assured that despite what they might have heard, there was no difference between male and female performance. Both groups were given a math test. In the first, the men outscored the women by 20 points; in the second, the men scored only 2 points higher. This phenomenon is called the stereotype threat by psychologists. Harmful stereotypes about unalterable genetic features such as gender and race can cause members of that genetic group to fulfill the negative stereotype until it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.
10 ways to give Girls a Push Forward:
1. Take the implicit bias test.
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5. Spread the word that engineering and computing fields have enormous social impact.
7. If you’re a man who works in engineering or tech, refuse to sit on panels that don’t have at least one woman.
- Women, on average, prioritize “communal goals” in their careers, meaning that they value working with and helping people. Engineers and tech workers can engineer an artificial limb, come up with solutions for drought and famine, and prevent cyberattacks.
7. If you’re a man who works in engineering or tech, refuse to sit on panels that don’t have at least one woman.
- It’s true that there are fewer women than men in these fields, but there aren’t none. Send the message that women belong in engineering and tech by encouraging conferences to ask more women to speak.
- Make sure they can back their choices up without invoking gender stereotypes or assumptions.
- Our research shows that women workers and applicants face discrimination even when their experience is the same as their male counterparts.
- Doing simple things like including a diversity statement on job listings and getting men engaged with the issue goes a long way.