Micro Support Systems for College Women in Male-Dominated Majors

• In Event: 70.038 - Issues of Gender and Higher Education

Abstract

Research has sought to explain the gender gap in STEM fields has focused on factors that deter women from entering these fields, especially gender role norms. This study examines factors that contribute to the persistence of women in STEM and other male dominated majors (MDM). We examine if women who continue in MDM’s embed themselves with other social support groups, referred to as microsystems, which support their choice of major and are less beholden to traditional gender role norms. A survey of men and women in MDM’s and female dominated majors (FDM) revealed that women in MDM reported high levels of classmate social support and less traditional gender role norms among their female classmates compared to women in FDM’s.

Authors

• Meghan Stallworth, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga

• Joan Barth, The University of Alabama