21 Jul Probabilidad que estudiantes mujeres elijan carreras STEM en educación superior, aumenta 9.6% con presencia de docentes mujeres de acuerdo a  investigación de Directora Núcleo LM2C2, Paola Bordón

Posted at 20:04h in Press Releases by

A research conducted by Paola Bordón (Deputy Director of Núcleo LM2C2), Fernanda Ramírez-Espinoza, and María Sevilla.

The underrepresentation of women in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is a persistent problem that requires urgent attention. In particular, the transition from secondary to higher education poses significant challenges in retaining female students who have embarked on STEM trajectories. This research analyzes the impact of female teachers in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) schools on the choice of STEM-related careers in higher education. It focuses on TVET programs that provide relevant knowledge and practical skills for STEM-related careers and jobs but whose potential to encourage female students is limited by the prevailing gender imbalance and inequalities. Only 15% of students and 8% of the technical faculty are female.

Key findings

  • The presence of female teachers in STEM TVET programs increases the likelihood of female students choosing STEM careers in higher education by 9.6%.

  • The impact is particularly significant in higher level technical careers in STEM fields, as the presence of female teachers in STEM-TVET programs reduces the gender gap in the choice of these careers by 18%.

  • Reducing gender gaps in STEM pathways is achieved without harming male students, as their performance is not affected by the presence of female teachers in STEM-TVET programs.

  • The enrollment effect in STEM careers is exclusive to female STEM-TVET teachers; female teachers in other fields do not impact persistence in STEM educational trajectories.

Conclusions and implications for public policy

  • To close the gender gap in STEM pathways, it is necessary for female students enrolled in STEM-TVET programs to persist in these areas when transitioning from secondary to higher education.

  • Female teachers in STEM-TVET programs, being perceived as professional role models in STEM fields by their female students, have the power to inspire and motivate young women to persevere in their career goals and future projects.

  • Increasing the number of female teachers in STEM-TVET programs requires specific hiring efforts, creating scholarships, and incentives to attract female professionals in STEM fields to join the teaching staff in TVET schools.

  • The inclusion of female STEM professionals in STEM-TVET classrooms must be supported through pedagogical training and mentoring programs.

Based on the article: Sevilla, M. P., Bordon, P., & Ramírez-Espinoza, F. (2023). Reinforcing the STEM pipeline in vocational-technical high schools: The effect of female teachers. Economics of Education Review, developed within the framework of the Fondecyt Regular Project 1210296. (Link to the paper)

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