Fitting in to Move Forward: Belonging, Gender, and Persistence in the Physical Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (pSTEM)

Abstract

Social science researchers have increasingly focused on understanding the precursors to gender disparities favoring men in the physical sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (pSTEM). In the current work, we hypothesized that the core social need to belong explains persistence in pSTEM for women more so than for men. We conducted three field studies with data from close to 3,000 participants bridging a wide span of higher education levels and differing pSTEM fields. In each study, we found gender disparities on sense of belonging in pSTEM favoring men. Moreover, sense of belonging explained persistence intentions for both women and men in one study and explained persistence intentions and actual persistence in pSTEM coursework for women, more so than for men, in the other two studies, even after controlling for two conventional predictors of academic achievement (self-efficacy and exam performance). These results highlight the role of belonging in gender differences in pSTEM persistence and indicate STEM educators should strive to create inclusive learning environments for all students. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ’ s website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/0361684317720186 . Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/page/pwq/suppl/index