Gender Inequities in STEM Education in Pakistan

• In Event: Gender (in)equality and norms in digital spaces

Proposal

"An equal world is an enabled world" (Global Gender Gap report, 2020) is a statement that carries a profound message and holds a powerful idea that is now needed more than ever. Globally, the world has seen a positive shift towards making a difference and headway towards attaining gender equality. However, Dhamala (2021), and Gulnaz and Fatima (2019), highlight that women in Global South still have to fight against bias and make constant efforts to broaden the perceptions and visions of everyone around them to accept them in more diverse roles. According to the UNESCO ground-breaking report Cracking the code: Girls' and women's education in STEM, only 35% of STEM students in higher education globally are women, and differences are observed within STEM disciplines. Unfortunately, in Global South particularly, Pakistan, Gulnaz and Fatima (2019) state that girls face inadequate representation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and, subsequently, STEM careers. Shah et al. (2020) further draws an attention to the fact that gender discrimination is a long-standing issue that needs to be addressed in STEM education. In Pakistan, the focus is mostly on addressing gender inequality by trying to increase girls’ enrollment in schools including STEM programs, or equalizing numbers in education statistics. However, this approach often misunderstands the difference between equality and equity and neglects the deeper issues of gender (in)equity that pervades the educational system and society at large.

Although, this systematic literature review is positioned within the broader theme of envisioning education in a digital society. It provides an overview of existing research on gender inequities in STEM education in Pakistan, with a particular focus on the role of digitization in either perpetuating or reducing the gender inequities. By identifying both barriers and opportunities, this review offers a comprehensive analysis of how digital tools and resources such as Google Classroom, Canva, SpellQuiz etc. can be leveraged to promote gender equity in STEM education in Pakistan. Moreover, to effectively address the long-standing issue of gender inequity in STEM, this critical literature reviews uncovers the limited understanding of gender equity in Pakistan due to various cultural and structural barriers that is not always understood through the lens of gender (in)equality.

Objective

The objective of this literature review adopts a neutral stance (exploration) in examining the barriers and opportunities that influence the participation and success of girls in STEM education in Pakistan within the context of a rapidly evolving digital society (Aslam & Kingdon, 2019). I aim to provide an understanding of the mechanisms that produce the current gender gap in STEM education between boys and girls, particularly in light of increasing digitization (Chen et al., 2018). Furthermore, this critical literature review analyzes the impact of these barriers and learning opportunities on girls' personal development, gender beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes, with an emphasis on how digital tools and resources can either mitigate or exacerbate these challenges (Gulnaz and Fatima, 2019).

My research addresses the following question: How do barriers and learning opportunities in STEM education, influenced by digital advancements, impact the progress of girls in K-12 education in Pakistan? This research question is framed to allow for a critical analysis of how digital advancements impact girls' progress in STEM education, considering both positive and negative outcomes in Pakistan.

Conceptual Framework

UNESCO Gender Mainstreaming Implementation Framework (2003) defines gender equity in the following words, “Process of being fair to men and women. To ensure fairness, measures must often be put in place to compensate for the historical and social disadvantages that prevent women and men from operating on a level playing field. Equity is a mean. Equality is the result” (UNESCO, 2003). Hence, the conceptual framework of this study focuses on the distinction between equity and equality in the context of a digital society and their implications for girls' education in secondary schools in Pakistan. As ‘one size fits all’ or Western standards usually overlook the systemic challenges that marginalized groups especially girls face in Pakistan.
It acknowledges the intersecting factors, including digitalization, that contribute to educational disparities, and seeks to envision strategies for creating more equitable outcomes for girls in a digitally driven educational environment. This critical literature review is springboard to ways in which I begin to envision an empirical study as I delve into the second year of my PhD.

Literature Review Focus

Through this critical literature review, I analyze the barriers and learning opportunities that girls face in developing a career in STEM fields, with a particular focus on the role of digital resources and barriers to accessibility. The expected contributions to the advancement of knowledge in this research topic are multifaceted. First, this study has the potential to provide a deeper understanding of the specific barriers that hinder girls' participation in STEM education in Pakistan, including those related to digital divides. Second, this research will offer an in-depth analysis of the cultural and contextual factors, including the role of digital technologies, that influence girls' engagement with STEM subjects in the rural schools in Pakistan. Third, the research highlights the resources and practices, especially digital tools, that facilitate or hinder the advancement of girls in STEM education in rural Pakistan. As such, my literature review seeks to shed light on the manner in which digitalization influences gender equity in STEM education across Pakistan.

Significance

The significance of this research lies in its potential to uncover gender disparities and inequities by analyzing gendered access to STEM education in Pakistan within a digital society. This research will provide valuable insights to policymakers, educators, and stakeholders in addressing gender inequity in STEM fields and truly amplify the voices of marginalized girls in Global South especially Pakistan. It can also assist policymakers in designing effective strategies that leverage digital technologies to increase girls' participation and success in STEM subjects, thereby adopting a more inclusive, context sensitive policy framework and generating a more equitable educational landscape in Pakistan.

(986 words)

Author

• Warda Mashhood, OISE - University of Toronto