STUDY: STEM diversity efforts have 'unintended consequences'

[Alphonse★ 453]

Quote

An Indiana University study finds that efforts to raise awareness of the lack of women in STEM are actually making women feel more out of place.

Indiana University Professor Psychology Evava Pietri conducted the study, titled “Addressing Unintended Consequences of Gender Diversity Interventions on Women’s Sense of Belonging in STEM.” It was published on August 17 in the journal Sex Roles.

Though researchers have previously theorized that STEM intervention efforts may backfire, this is the first study to use an experimental approach to illustrate —under laboratory conditions—how “women in STEM” advocacy may be backfiring. 

[RELATED: Feds pay $8M+ to promote ‘diversity’ in STEM]

To do this, Pietrithe recruited 585 participants to watch videos on the STEM gender gap. Half of the participants watched videos depicting conversations between professors and students about the disparity and each conversation was inspired by a specific research article.  

The rest of the participants watched a set of interviews with a male psychology professor, describing how research on the STEM disparity is conducted. Unsurprisingly, the videos were effective in raising participants’ “bias literacy,” or their ability to articulate various ways in which women are subjected to bias in STEM. 

But the educational videos also had a downside. 

The videos “increased awareness of gender bias in the sciences, which led women, but not men, to ultimately experience decreased anticipated belonging and trust and increased negative affect and stereotype threat concerns about the STEM organization.” 

[RELATED: Prof finds ‘no evidence’ sexism is behind gender gap in STEM]

“Moreover, for women, awareness of gender bias in the sciences (i.e., gender bias literacy) was the mechanism underscoring their enhanced social identity threat,” Pietrithe and her fellow researchers explained. 

Moving forward, the researchers call for women in STEM advocates to be “diligent in investigating the possibility of unintended negative outcomes” before trying to get more women into STEM. 

Further, they cast doubt over whether these programs should be created in the first place. 

“If diversity interventions, such as [the one used in the experiment] have negative consequences on women’s sense of belonging in STEM, should women even be exposed to them in the first place?”

[RELATED: Scholars claim Asian Americans used to perpetuate racism in STEM]

“Perhaps the risks associated with social identity threat are not worth the benefits of increased bias literacy and reduced gender bias,” they add. 

Professors from Purdue University, Yale University, Skidmore College, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison assisted with the research for this study. 

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @Toni_Airaksinen

8

https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=11305

[hoshino 148]

Women in science

[bhytre 2,753]

Why aren't my feminist ideals and reality the same 

[hoshino 148]

9 hours ago, bhytre said:

Why aren't my feminist ideals and reality the same 

Reeeeee

[The Mother Fucker 26]

I know a place that they will never feel out of place.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

the church. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[McWicked 825]

 

...Yup, that's about what I expected: a right-wing Jezebel or Salon.

[Hot Sauce 2,729]

2 hours ago, McWickedSmawt85 said:

...Yup, that's about what I expected: a right-wing Jezebel or Salon.

The company behind it recruits, trains, and places conservative activists in government and the media. McConnell, Pence, and O'Keefe went through there.

[Cooke 2,026]

Just let women choose the careers they want like they are already doing. No one is stopping women from getting into stem fields. They have every right to choose their own path. Why is there so much focus on this? Why aren't we obsessing over why men don't want to be nurses and school teachers? 

[Cooke 2,026]

2 hours ago, McWickedSmawt85 said:

 

...Yup, that's about what I expected: a right-wing Jezebel or Salon.

Lmao if you think those sites are right wing then you may be completely delusional about the world. 

[McWicked 825]

4 minutes ago, Cookester15 said:

Lmao if you think those sites are right wing then you may be completely delusional about the world. 

That's not at all what I said.  Not even a little bit.

[hoshino 148]

2 hours ago, McWickedSmawt85 said:

That's not at all what I said.  Not even a little bit.

You literally called it right-wing.  Explicitly.  In writing.

 

Fuck youre dumb

[McWicked 825]

Just now, teh_4th said:

You literally called it right-wing.  Explicitly.  In writing.

 

Fuck youre dumb

 

I said the site that was linked is a right-wing version of Salon and Jezebel, not that Salon and Jezebel are right-wing sites.  Goddamn, son.

[Cooke 2,026]

54 minutes ago, McWickedSmawt85 said:

 

I said the site that was linked is a right-wing version of Salon and Jezebel, not that Salon and Jezebel are right-wing sites.  Goddamn, son.

I misread what you wrote.