What determines female STEM majors persistence in STEM employment after graduation: Insights from Kazakhstan

• In Event: Gender equality in higher education in Eurasia

Proposal

This paper explores employment experiences of female science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates in Kazakhstan, a Central Asian country. Within the last two decades, the importance of STEM fields in promoting the country’s socio-economic development has been underscored in national policies. Improving the effectiveness of STEM education and increasing the number of STEM graduates is viewed as the key factor for promoting innovation and research-driven economic growth.

In higher education, the government has been supporting the reforms in STEM education by annually allocating the largest proportion of state study grants to STEM majors (Stat.gov, 2020; Demessinova, 2020). The government seeks to recruit talented students to STEM majors, including females, the number of whom has also grown within recent years and now is more than 50 per cent of the total student population (Akhmetbekov, 2020).

However, increasing the supply and retention of female students at all stages of STEM education pipeline does not guarantee their long-term participation in the STEM labor force (White & Smith, 2021). Previous research conducted internationally on female STEM graduates’ employment outcomes shows that they are still underrepresented in the STEM labor market, even holding relevant qualifications (Michelmore & Sassler, 2016). Compared to male students majoring in STEM, females are less likely to pursue careers congruent to their majors and in contrast to their counterparts outside STEM specializations, they are more likely to leave STEM careers (Glass et al., 2013; Xu, 2013). In literature, the low retention rate of STEM females in STEM careers is explained by a diverse set of factors – individual, organizational, and socio-structural.

In Kazakhstan, scholarly investigation on females’ experiences in STEM fields is scarce. The existing research studies focus on either females’ interests and experiences in university STEM majors (Authors, 2020; Authors, 2021; Authors 2022) or female academics’ employment experiences (Authors, 2017; Authors, 2021).

This research builds on these studies and aims to expand existing knowledge on females’ experiences in STEM fields in Kazakhstan by investigating their employment experiences in the early-career stage (1-4 years after graduation). In particular, we seek to understand what factors affect females’ STEM persistence after graduation.

The analytical framework of this study is based on Eccles’ expectancy-value theory (Eccles, 1983; 2005).The expectancy-value theory is a comprehensive framework with two main psychological constructs, specifically, one’s perceived competence and subjective task value attached to a job. These constructs are motivational beliefs that individuals or groups follow in making their career choices. In other words, females are likely to select and pursue careers in STEM if they have positive personal self-efficacy and expectations for success, as well as attach the relative importance or value to a STEM career compared to other professional fields (Eccles, 2015).

The study employed a qualitative inquiry into the employment experiences of female STEM graduates in Kazakhstan. Empirical data was collected through individual interviews. The use of interviews allowed for obtaining in-depth insights into the participants’ experiences based on their own stories (Brinkmann & Kvale, 2018). The interviews were semi-structured or based on loosely structured open-ended questions developed around themes taken from literature but also allowed for a comprehensive discussion of the questions under investigation and the exploration of unexpected themes. Interview questions asked for female STEM graduates’ employment destinations, workplace experiences with a focus on gender biases, and factors shaping their STEM persistence.
A purposeful maximal variation strategy was used in the study to select participants. Overall, 20 females who graduated from five universities located in South and Central Kazakhstan and the capital of the country were interviewed. The participants varied on the following characteristics: (1) university location, (2) type of university, (3) STEM major, (4) work experience, (5) age, and (6) marital status (see Table 1). By applying snowballing techniques, we identified potential participants and invited them to take part in the study. The final sample included females who agreed to participate in the study.

This study contributes to the literature on female STEM graduates’ employment outcomes and persistence. More specifically, it provides new insights by examining STEM females’ employment experiences, education-job congruence and persistence in the early-career stage and across STEM subject areas. By focusing on Kazakhstan, a Central Asian country, this study brings evidence from a previously understudied national/regional context that enriches the current international understanding of females’ work experiences in STEM fields. In addition, the findings of this study are believed to be beneficial for policy-makers in Kazakhstan and other countries seeking a return from STEM education policies to economic growth, as well as for employers in STEM fields to improve working conditions for females in the workplace.


References
Akhmetbekov, A. (2020, February 4). Bolee poloviny vsekh kazahstanskih studentov sostavlyayut devushki [More than a half of all Kazakhstani students are girls]. Azattyq-ruhy. Retrieved from: https://rus.azattyq- ruhy.kz/society/4992-bolee-poloviny-vsekh-kazakhstanskikh-studentov-sostavliaiut-devushki
Demessinova, A. (2020, July 23) Na kakie special'nosti vydelili granty v 2020 godu v Kazahstane [What majors are grants allocated to in Kazakhstan in 2020]. Kazpravda. Retrieved from: https://kazpravda.kz/n/na-kakie- spetsialnosti-vydelili-granty-v-2020-godu-v-kazahstane/?ysclid=lctxumltow234083889
Glass, J., Sassler, S., Levitte, Y., & Michelmore, K. (2013). What’s so special about STEM? A comparison of women’s retention in STEM and professional occupations. Social Forces, 92(2), 723-756. doi.org/10.1093/sf/sot092
Michelmore, K. & Sassler, S. (2016). Explaining the gender wage gap in STEM: Does field sex composition matter? RSF: The Russell Sage of the Social Sciences, 2(4), 194-215. doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2016.2.4.07
White, P. & Smith, E. (2022). From subject choice to career path: Female STEM graduates in the UK labour market. Oxford Review of Education, 48(6), 693-709. doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2021.2011713
Xu, Y. (2013). Career outcomes of STEM and non-STEM college in majored-field and influential factors in career in Higher Education, 54,
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Authors

• Aliya Kuzhabekova, University of Calgary

• Ainur Almukhambetova, Nazarbayev University

• Dinara Alimkhanova, Nazarbayev University