Literature Review #2

(1) Visual-
 

(2) Citation- Gokhale, Anu A., et al. "Gender Differences in Attitudes toward Science and Technology among Majors." Journal of Science Education and Technology, vol. 24, no. 4, 01 Aug. 2015, pp. 509-516.

(3) Summary- Women make up around half of the work force however the gap between men and women getting degrees  in science and engineering fields has widened substantially. This article demonstrates that the attitude of women and of others towards women in these fields is a major impediment to women becoming more represented in the field. Several studies show that attitude towards people can either encourage or stop them from performing specific tasks or actions. This article shows that a lack of social and academic support for women in colleges  to pursue S&T fields can impede their academic and career aspirations.

(4) Authors-

Anu A. Gokhale, 

Cara Rabe-Hemp, 

Lori Woeste, 

Kenton Machina. Gokhale, Reb-Hemp and Machina are all professors at  Illinois Stae University. Woeste is a professor at Kirkwood Community College.

(5)Key Terms- S&T- science and Technology fields

Attitude-a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person's behavior.

Theory of Reasoned Action- Based on observations, reflection, experiences, etc., an individual develops a belief system. This belief system at any given time determines the individual’s attitudes, subjective norms, intentions, and behaviors. 

Theory of Planned Behavior- An extension of the Theory of Reasoned action with the addition of Perceived behavioral control. PBC refers to the perceived ease or difficulty of performing the behavior in question.

(6)Quotes- 

"In a study of students who planned to major in science, it was found that females generally found science uninteresting and the scientific lifestyle (as perceived by them) unattractive (Miller et al. 2006). In a meta-analysis of 106 studies, Bain and Rice (2006) found that males had slightly more positive attitudes toward technology. In yet another study, male students indicated a statistically significant more positive attitude for science when compared to the female students (Desy et al. 2011). Although females tend to hold more positive attitudes toward school and learning, males continue to maintain better attitudes toward science and are more motivated to succeed in science. These results, showing that females can succeed in school yet still have lower attitudes toward science, support the continued underrepresentation of women in the sciences."(513)

"One reason that women may not persist in S&T could be the negative impacts of a lack of full support for equity by their male peers. Even slight differences or lukewarm, rather than enthusiastic support, can impede women’s progress"(514)

"The focus on reducing gender disparity across all fields of S&T takes on greater urgency as we

cannot afford to ignore the potential contributions of half of the nation’s population. A lack of social and academic support for female students to pursue S&T fields can impede their academic and career aspirations." (515)

(7)Value- This article adds another element to my work by giving the explicit reason that women are underrepresented in STEM fields because of the attitude. This includes their own attitude toward the field and others attitude toward them entering into the field. This article points out how detrimental this disparity is.

Literature Review #1

(1) Visual-

(2) Citation- Wagner, Simon and B. Killion, B. "Gender And Choosing A STEM Major In College: Femininity, Masculinity, Chilly Climate, And Occupational Values." Journal Of Research In Science Teaching (2016): Scopus®. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.

(3) Summary-The article suggests, and further gathers data in order to figure out if masculine and feminine personality types have to do with the gender discrepancy in STEM majors. The article presents a few reasons previously suggested for this. One of which is that STEM majors have a "chilly climate" that is not compatible with feminine characteristics such as altruism and communitarianism. The article further delves into the difference in masculine and feminine personality types and describes that by nature and nurture masculine personality traits are more compatible with STEM fields. The conclusion is that personality traits could be a reason for the discrepancy as men and woman are rewarded differently for their traits in these areas.

(4) Authors-Richard M. Simon, Ashley Wagner, and Brooke Killion are all part of the sociology department at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

(5)Key Terms- 
       Occupational values-  a persons standards in what their career or job must require, specifically in personality traits.
       STEM- science, technology, engineering, and math fields of study, or employment
       Masculinity-possession of the qualities traditionally associated with men.
       Femininity-the quality of being female; womanliness.

(6)Quotes- 
" Therefore, the argument continues, persons socialized to have feminine personality characteristics will face cultural barriers to STEM careers that persons socialized to be masculine will not."(299)
"Some researchers have argued that women opt out of science careers, in part, because the masculine culture of science is a "chilly climate" for women." (300)
"Woman are believed to less likely to choose a career in STEM because such careers are less compatible with altruistic and communitarian values associated with feminine personalities."(300)

(7) Value- This article is of valuable because it explains a possible reasons for the gender gap in college majors. Many other sources say that the discrepancy is due to the nature of how men and woman are treated or difference in test scores but this is a unique approach that could give a reason for this problem.

Three Academic Sources

 "The Influence Of Romantic Partners On Women In STEM Majors." - This piece points out that common reasons for the under representation of woman in STEM majors is that those jobs are commonly incompatible with their traditionally feminine roles such as helping others and maintaining a marriage and family. This article speaks about a study of woman STEM majors and their romantic partners.

"Attrition of Women in STEM: Examining Job/Major Congruence in the Career Choices of College Graduates"- This article measures the value in pursuing job options that match up with students college majors. It speaks about how their is a low percentage of woman in STEM majors and major inequality in STEM careers starting immediately after college.

"It's Not My Party: A Critical Analysis of Women and Minority Opposition towards STEM"- a deeper analysis of why woman are under represented in STEM majors.

Scouting The Territory

My topic remains college major choices, specifically for woman(maybe in STEM) and how they correlate with woman in the workplace. In Google  I searched college major choice for women, women and STEM majors, and college major gender gap. All three of these issues seem to be thoroughly discussed online. A scholarly article tittles Woman in STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation (https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers2.cfm?abstract_id=1964782) seems to be an important scholarly article because it discusses the under representation of woman in STEM majors.
 It seems important to discuss that although woman majoring in STEM is increasing, they are still under represented in these majors despite the fact that they make up nearly half the college educated work force.
http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/48/3/545.short - I think this article is important because it argues that the college major gender gap is mainly due to difference in preference and tastes and not becomes of under confidence in women.
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ946204 - This article is interesting because it points out that it wouldn't just be helpful to woman but also to society as a whole to have more girls and woman in STEM fields.
It seems to be agreed that their is a gender gap in major choice and woman are under represented in STEM majors.

Initial Topic Idea

For my research paper I plan to research college major choices. Specifically I would like to research the difference in major choices of men and women (and if it connects with gender separation in the workplace). I am also interested in researching women and STEM majors.