









































Communication, Society and Media 
ISSN 2576-5388 (Print) ISSN 2576-5396 (Online) 

Vol. 5, No. 3, 2022 
www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm 

17 
 

Original Paper 

Women in STEM Interview Analysis: Encouraging Young 

Female Learners in STEM Pathways 
Kimberly K. Arcand1*, Sara R. Price1, Lisa F. Smith2, & Brian Hsu1 

1 NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, 

MA, United States 
2 School of Social Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand 
* Kimberly K. Arcand, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & 

Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA, United States 

 

Received: September 9, 2022   Accepted: September 28, 2022    Online Published: November 2, 2022 

doi:10.22158/csm.v5n3p17                       URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/csm.v5n3p17 

 

Abstract 

This study used a qualitative approach to examine potential obstacles to and challenges in working in a 

STEM field for females from underrepresented groups. Unstructured interviews with 11 adult females 

representing diverse groups and various STEM careers yielded important historical perspectives, along 

with recommendations for building STEM careers for young females today. The findings indicated the 

critical role of having a strong mentor, role model, or support system in place along the STEM pathway; 

the need to work with and engage females in STEM activities and subjects when they are as young as 

possible, preferably while in primary/elementary school; and the importance of developing a sense of 

STEM self-efficacy in young females. Recommendations are given to inform studies in science 

communication and informal education. 

Keywords 

women in STEM, role models, biases, self-efficacy, qualitative interviews, career trajectories, 

underrepresented learners, elementary STEM education 
 

1. Introduction 

The history of women’s contributions to the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math 

(STEM) is long and varied, but it often has been overlooked, and women remain statistically 

underrepresented. Today, although women work in every type of job within all STEM disciplines and 

represent the broadest range of backgrounds and experiences, there is not yet parity in representation 

numbers, pay, or rank. In the United States of America (U.S.) alone, women make up about 47% of the 



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overall workforce. However, that nearly gender-equal percentage does not necessarily translate into 

STEM fields (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). It is critical to keep in mind that true gender parity 

cannot be measured by percentages alone (Noll, 2020), as it also involves belonging and inclusion. 

Women are most significantly underrepresented in physical science fields, including astronomy. 

Computer science is the only STEM career path that consistently showed a decrease in the number of 

U.S. women obtaining undergraduate degrees since 2002 (Larson, 2014; National Academies of 

Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2020). The American Astronomical Society Committee on the 

Status of Women in Astronomy reported that as of 2013, there were only 95 female full professors in 

astronomy in the U.S. versus 548 male full professors of astronomy (Schmelz et al., 2014). In 2013, 

women made up about 14% of physics professors in the U.S. (Pollack, 2013). For minority women, 

however, the statistics tended to be much lower. In 2015, only 83 Black American women held Ph.D.s 

in physics or a physics-related area of study (Pitney, 2017). Overall, only 1 in 10 women of color filled 

the position of scientist or engineer (National Girls Collaborative Project, 2016). 

 

2. Overview 

2.1 Why More Women are needed in STEM 

The benefits of increasing representation of women from diverse backgrounds in STEM research and 

career paths range from higher job security (Langdon et al., 2011) and pay rates for women (Funk & 

Parker, 2018) to other pragmatic and perhaps life-saving gains. Women, for example, can experience 

more side effects from many medications than men do and with more variation (U.S. Government 

Accountability Office, 2001), and initial research studies for medicines have often been biased towards 

male subjects (Beery & Zucker, 2011). In addition, automobile airbags have been more dangerous for 

women of smaller stature because engineers initially designed and tested them around the male body 

(Bloch, 1998).  

To design studies that avoid these omissions, women must contribute equitably to planning the relevant 

research frameworks. Studies have shown that when heterogeneous parties are included in 

problem-solving tasks, more comprehensive results can arise than if the parties were homogenous 

(Phillips et al., 2008; Shinchi, 2014). Therefore, it could be beneficial to include a higher diversity of 

researchers in fields such as biomedical engineering, where the female-to-male ratio is approximately 

1:6 for workers in the U.S. as of 2016 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018).  

Beyond representation issues, and even beyond STEM jobs and outputs, lie more broad-reaching 

reasons for improving girls’ interest in and potential prospects in STEM fields. Topics in the STEM 

domain are central to choices at the core of society, from political issues and government policies to 

business strategies. From boosting critical thinking abilities (Duran & Sendag, 2012) to shaping 

well-informed voters (Marincola, 2006), these issues affect people on election ballots, in finance, and 



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the media - in other words, within the world. People from all sectors of society need to engage in 

framing and tackling problems through scientific and technological initiatives to find solutions 

incorporating diverse voices from the communities impacted. 

2.2 Intersectionality 

Kimberlé Crenshaw (1991), an expert and authority in civil rights, Black feminist legal theory, and race, 

racism, and the law, created the term “intersectionality” to define the intersection where race and 

gender bias occur. She noted that women of color could not choose to be female one day and a minority 

the next. In STEM fields specifically, biases being encoded into applications and products created with 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) or machine learning algorithms can negatively affect people with darker 

skin. For example, one Massachusetts Institute of Technology study found that facial recognition 

software has unusually high error rates among darker-skinned females (Buolamwini & Gebru, 2018). 

An improved skin tone dataset and better gender-distributed dataset for AI training purposes were 

recommended, one that more closely represents the population as a solution to a highly problematic 

paradigm that has far-reaching implications in search applications and police databases (Lohr, 2018). 

Similar issues have been found in physical products, from automatic soap dispensers that use infrared 

technology that does not “see” or recognize darker skin to more impactful products such as personal 

wearable health trackers and heart monitors (Fussell, 2017). Such technological errors and issues could 

have been avoided or, at the minimum, decreased by paying greater attention to diversity and therefore 

having a wider range of people in technology and engineering fields that do not prioritize the 

perspective of a White male body. Looking at product design from the embodiment perspective is also 

helpful for comprehending the need to make these STEM products accessible to populations with 

different physical abilities, who may need to use a previously unexplored set of senses or modalities to 

perceive and analyze scientific data. 

2.3 STEM and Disabled Learners: Blind and Visually Impaired 

There are many different groups of learners. One category represented by an interview participant is 

audiences that are Blind or Visually Impaired (BVI). Finding ways to increase participation for all 

learners in science and engineering can be a universally heightened challenge for students with 

disabilities, as they are underrepresented in these disciplines (Villanueva & Di Stefano, 2017). 

Approximately one in nine employed scientists or engineers under the age of 75 reports a disability 

(National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, 2017). When considering the needs of BVI 

audiences, especially students, it is crucial to note that each individual’s development drastically 

correlates with the specific support or interventions that person has received in critical skills (Raisamo 

et al., 2006). Many STEM subjects rely heavily on visual resources that can be inaccessible to blind or 

low-vision students unless the material is presented in an alternative format (Cryer, 2013). Finding 

ways to help facilitate both the presentation and analysis of information in accessible ways and through 



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multiple senses can enhance the quality of knowledge obtained from interpreting results for the 

scientific community, BVI, and sighted members alike (Díaz-Merced, 2014). Enabling equitable access 

to scientific information (Arcand et al., 2019) will also help a broader portion of the population realize 

that STEM subjects and careers could be a good match for their interests while teaching them the skills 

necessary to solve problems in these fields. 

2.4 Biases, Role Models, and Identities: Additional Sociocultural Issues in STEM 

Multiple studies have shown that STEM skills are learned (Hill et al., 2010), and gender bias still 

negatively impacts girls’ noted interest in STEM fields from a very early age. For example, work from 

Spencer et al. (1999) demonstrated the strength of stereotype threat for girls in mathematics testing 

among top math performers, where even the mention of gender bias in a test led to reduced 

performance for female participants. Group stereotypes (whether based on gender or race) “can 

threaten how students evaluate themselves, which then alters academic identity and intellectual 

performance” and can affect “members of any group about whom negative stereotypes exist” 

(American Psychological Association, 2006, p. 1). Not only does gender bias support the perception 

that science and mathematics are “for boys,” but, more importantly, it illustrates that stereotypical 

threats can lead to girls’ performance anxiety and low expectations on academic tests (Doyle, 2016). 

Furthermore, personal judgments on the suitability of STEM fields can be based on known stereotypes 

of people considered like themselves (Deiglymayr et al., 2019; Richardson & GenderSciLab, 2020), 

which can solidify underrepresented groups’ perception that the culture of STEM disciplines is not a 

right fit. 

A growing body of research illustrates significant sociocultural roadblocks for women in computer 

science and engineering fields. Such barriers can significantly hinder the determination of STEM 

discipline selection and study (Cheryan et al., 2015; Ceci et al., 2009). A meta-analysis conducted by 

Cheryan et al. (2017) of 1,200 papers on gender gaps in computer science, engineering, and physics, 

pointed to three primary issues. These included a masculine culture with stereotypes and a lack of role 

models, leading to women feeling less welcome, less early exposure or work within those fields, and 

reduced self-efficacy. This research noted that STEM programs could benefit by addressing 

problematic cultural issues and building awareness in girls and boys that both are equally capable of 

succeeding in STEM careers. For example, intentionally designing equitable learning sites such as 

makerspaces can ensure that women feel comfortable and engaged moving around (Melo, 2020) and 

therefore increases their sense of ownership within these educational spaces. 

2.4.1 STEM Identity 

A personal STEM identity is a belief that one can do well and succeed in STEM subjects (Ayoub, 2017). 

The social aspect of this STEM identity explains how participants can visualize themselves as 

“accepted as a member of a STEM discipline or field” (Kim et al., 2018, p. 3). Several factors related to 



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STEM identities may make it challenging, particularly for underserved groups like young women of 

color, to adopt such an identity for themselves (Steinke, 2017). Self-efficacy is often lower in females 

than males generally (Gnilka & Novakovic, 2017), and issues of belonging and confidence related to 

self-efficacy (Settles, 2014) can be challenging to navigate in formulating the STEM identity. 

Importantly, however, recent research has demonstrated that through interventions, STEM identity 

challenges can be positively influenced (Kim et al., 2018).  

Self-efficacy relates to the importance of mentorship regarding influence from others and identity. 

Self-efficacy can influence an individual’s choices and efforts to reach given goals and if the individual 

will persist through difficulties and challenges to obtain those goals (Bandura, 1997; Rittmayer & Beier, 

2008). Bandura’s work further states that individuals with higher states of expectation towards 

self-efficacy, or the belief that they will be able to achieve their goal or goals, tend to be more 

successful compared to individuals with lower expectations towards their self-efficacy (Sobieraj & 

Krämer, 2019). This is a pertinent topic, as success in STEM subjects requires a strong sense of one’s 

ability to succeed in such topics, and females can have lower senses of self-efficacy toward STEM than 

males (Williams & George-Jackson, 2014). Individual perceptions of self-efficacy during the process of 

learning scientific subjects can be impacted by the presence of harmful biases in the environments of 

students, employees, and other people exposed to STEM subject matter. 

2.4.2 Explicit and Implicit Gender Bias 

A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and National Science Foundation report in 2011 based on over 

5,500 female participants stated that the primary reasons for women leaving the field of engineering 

were sexist behaviors in their workplaces and feeling undermined by their managers or peers, as 

compared to those who remained (Fouad & Singh, 2011). Women who left the field were also not as 

likely to report educational or advancement opportunities on the job, nor general support for a work-life 

balance, compared to those who stayed (Fouad & Singh, 2011). Therefore, women tended to leave not 

because they lacked skills or knowledge but because of work environments that were less civil or 

supportive of women (Doyle, 2016). This may point to an explicit bias—a bias that is more consciously 

held and therefore shapes how behavior toward certain groups of people is evaluated (Handelsman & 

Sakraney, 2015)—that could affect perceived notions about STEM careers for those deciding on which 

fields of study to pursue (Girl Scout Research Institute, 2012; Girlguiding, 2016). 

According to an American Association of University Women (AAUW) report, “women and men are 

exposed to the same stereotypes about women in math and science in U.S. culture and, on average, 

acquire the same implicit or unconscious ‘science/math=male’ biases by age 7 or 8” (Hill et al., 2010, p. 

56). This is an implicit bias—or an unconscious assumption—that influences our judgment and 

perceptions of others (Handelsman & Sakarney, 2015) versus the aforementioned explicit bias. Such 

unconscious biases can affect how adults talk to children, how family members select toys for them, 



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and even how educators address them in environments for learning (Hill et al., 2010). Implicit biases, if 

they are not identified and consciously examined, can even negatively impact the hiring of elite female 

academic STEM researchers (Régner et al., 2019). One potential method of countering these biases is 

exposing elementary school-aged students from underserved groups to people like them 

demographically who currently work in STEM disciplines. 

2.4.3 Role Models 

The lack of visible role models in STEM fields in which women are currently underrepresented can be 

problematic. This dearth of female role models has been shown to exist mainly in the media, with even 

less representation than in reality (Smith et al., 2012). Lockwood (2006) stated that women specifically 

require female role models for success to feel attainable. Furthermore, exposure to role models is likely 

closely connected to formulating a stronger sense of STEM identity (Rosenthal et al., 2013; Young et 

al., 2013). Recent reports have shown that role models positively affected the development of interest 

in careers for 1,600 girls and young women aged 7 to 21. In contrast, the lack of such role models 

negatively affected the development of interest (Girlguiding, 2016). Exploring the educational and 

career pathways of diverse women involved in STEM disciplines and discussing them in detail helps 

present various role models who can be compared to contemporary STEM students.  

 

3. Method 

3.1 Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math - Investigating Obstacles, Biases, & 

Perceptions 

This study was undertaken to gain insights into the types of obstacles and challenges that 

underrepresented groups of females potentially face specific to STEM learning. The first author 

collected data in a series of individual interviews with women who represented a variety of 

underrepresented groups and who were currently working in a STEM-related career. 

3.2 Participants  

Participants in the study were 11 women currently active in STEM fields, aged 30-70, identified 

through the principal investigator’s professional networks. The 11 participants (representing one Asian 

American, one Black, one Indian American, one Latina/Black, and seven White participants) included 

astronomers, a cosmologist, a planetary geologist, an astronaut, a biologist, an engineer, a technologist, 

and a mathematician. In addition, nine were prominent in their fields, and five identified publicly 

within LGBTQIA+. We refer to the participants in this study by their occupations. 

The researchers had no supervisory role over any of the participants or other coercive professional or 

personal relationships with them that might have made them feel obligated to agree to take part in this 

research. 

 



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3.3 Materials  

Questions were developed to guide the sessions based on the reviewed literature, along with the 

knowledge and experience of the first author as a woman in STEM. The interviews followed a 

semi-structured format, but all included the following questions: 

1) Please tell me about your educational background and work experience. 

2) What was your career path? 

3) What were the attitudes towards women in STEM fields when you started your career? 

4) What made you decide on a STEM career? What sorts of things led you to believe that you 

wanted to be a scientist? 

5) Next, I’d like to know whether you hesitated to pursue your STEM field. If so, why? Did 

anyone encourage you? Discourage you? If so, how? (Note the gender of the encourager) 

6) How many other women were pursuing or had active careers in your field when you started? 

7) What might have prevented you from being successful in your chosen field? What hurdles did 

you need to overcome? 

8) How has the climate toward women changed in your field since you started?  

9) What suggestions do you have for engaging young women in STEM fields? 

10) What suggestions do you have for retaining young women in STEM fields? 
3.4 Procedure 

An email invitation to participate in the study was sent to 12 women in STEM careers, along with an 

information sheet and consent form. Out of all those asked to participate, one did not respond. In the 

email invitation, the principal investigator offered to call the potential interviewees to discuss the 

project and respond to any questions before the interviewee gave consent. Ten participants noted 

satisfaction with email discussions and did not find it necessary for the principal investigator to call; 

one participant requested a short call to clarify the purpose of the interviews and how they would be 

analyzed.  

Once the 11 women who responded to the original email agreed to participate, arrangements were made 

for a mutually agreeable time for the interviews. Each interview was conducted over the phone and 

lasted from 60 to 90 minutes. Due to the varied geographic locations of the participants, the interviews 

were conducted over an iPhone with a recording application installed. At the start of each interview, 

each participant was provided with a refresher on the study’s purpose and an opportunity to ask 

questions. Each participant then orally confirmed her permission to have the interview recorded.  

All interviews were transcribed by a secure digital service and reviewed by the researchers to correct 

for inaccuracies in the transcription process (e.g., names misspelled or garbled sounds). Participants 

were provided the transcriptions to edit or delete any sensitive or undesirable information and make 

other corrections as needed. Two participants provided edits to the transcripts; one removed a small 



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amount of sensitive information (specific names and dates that had been discussed), and another added 

a few minor notes for clarity (such as a URL).  

The interviews took place from March 2018 through September 2019, with the majority of the 

interviews occurring from March 2018 to mid-2018. Review, coding, and analysis of the transcripts 

occurred throughout the remainder of 2018 and through September 2019. No compensation was offered 

or requested. Ethics forms were completed, submitted, and approved.  

 

4. Analysis 

Transcripts were analyzed following Straus and Corbin’s (1998) grounded theory with an iterative 

approach. Data were reviewed through five iterations, with repeated readings of the data lensed through 

sifting, sorting, coding, abstracting, and checking (Ryan & Bernard, 2003). As this was new research 

for the field, the authors used inductive themes derived from the data (O’Reilly, 2009) instead of 

deductive themes that otherwise might have come from existing research. Representative quotes were 

selected and categorized by the interviewee’s occupation (e.g., “mathematician”). An excerpt from the 

coding for one participant is shown in Table 1 as an example. 

 

Table 1. Interviews—Sample of Quote Selection for One Participant (“Astronomer”) 

Category Quote 

Influencers 

“...how do I deal with a professor who doesn’t support me, who doesn’t want to write me 

recommendation [sic] like there’s no class that teaches you how to do that...if you don’t 

have good mentors around you to help buffer those negative things you’re just going to 

wash out.” 

Hurdles 

“And I think sometimes when people hear that you’re coming from an HBCU [Historically 

Black College and University], they kind of immediately assume that you have gaps in 

your education or maybe you’re not as smart, like it’s not anything in what they’re saying, 

but it’s kind of an attitude – like you’re here, but you’re only here because you’re part of 

this special program because you needed it and that’s, it – it’s all these little 

microaggressions that begin to add up.” 

Attitude Changes 

“I think there are some good changes that have happening [sic] I know statistics, 

statistics-wise, the number of women in STEM field has increased since my time. But one 

thing that hasn’t changed much since kind of going into the STEM field is the number of 

minorities who are getting their master’s, or they’re getting their Ph.D. And that hasn’t 

changed. So it’s a little discouraging.” 

Recommendations 
“But I want to be able to explain this to other people, that real-world like I think there’s 

just so many studies that I’m sure you’ve read, and I’ve read that’s one of the connections 



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to get our young women into STEM, is the ‘why,’ why is this important?” 

 

It can be seen in Table 2 that in addition to being female and working in a STEM field, all but three of 

the participants fit within a minority group of either ethnicity, physical ability, or sexual orientation. 

Of the eleven women interviewed, each attended their undergraduate programs as a young person, with 

two having obtained a maximum of a Bachelor of Science degree (one of whom is currently enrolled in 

a post-baccalaureate program towards the goal of enrolling in medical school), four holding master’s 

degrees, and five having studied at the Ph.D. level. One of the five reported being a Ph.D. 

candidate/ABD (all but dissertation), and four held Ph.D.s. Each participant proceeded into a career 

path after completing their current level of schooling. At least nine participants are considered 

prominent in their fields either through direct research outputs or by reputation or recognition in their 

fields. If the participant’s status as a mother or as a non-native speaker of English was raised or 

previously mentioned publicly, that data was also included in Table 2.  

 

5. Results 

Five themes emerged from the data and were defined to facilitate accuracy in identification: influencers, 

educational experiences, hurdles, attitude changes, and recommendations. Table 3 shows the total 

number of responses by theme, as determined through the iterative process previously described. All 

participants commented at least once on each of the five themes. The first theme, containing the most 

responses (101 responses), addressed the participants’ influencers that had positive or negative impacts, 

from role models and mentors to detractors. The second theme that emerged was an educational 

experience, which concerned the participants’ educational background or range of educational 

experiences. Hurdles were the third theme that emerged from the data, pertaining to issues that needed 

to be overcome by the participants pursuing their careers. The fourth theme reflected attitudes 

perceived over the years toward women in STEM. Lastly, the fifth theme related to participants’ 

recommendations for engaging and retaining females in STEM fields.  

 

Table 2. Description of Interview Participants 

ID Occupation Education Ethnicity 
Sexual 

Orientationa 
NSEb 

Stated 

Disability  
Career Mother 

1 Astronaut Ph.D. White Cishet Yes No 
Late, 

Prominent 
Yes 

2 Engineer B.S. White Cishet Yes No Mid/Late Yes 



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3 
Software 

Developer 
M.S. White LGBTQIA+ Yes No 

Late, 

Prominent 
Yes 

4 
Technologist/ 

Pre-Med 

B.S./ 

Post-Baccc 

Indian 

American 
LGBTQIA+ No No Early Unknown 

5 Mathematician Ph.D. 
Asian 

American 
Cishet 

Unkn

own 
No 

Mid, 

Prominent 
Yes 

6 
Radio 

Astronomer 

Ph.D. 

Candidate 
White Unknown Yes No 

Mid, 

Prominent 
Unknown 

7 Science Writer M.A. White LGBTQIA+ Yes No 
Mid, 

Prominent 
Yes 

8 Astronomer M.S. Black Unknown Yes No 
Mid, 

Prominent 
Yes 

9 Cosmologist Ph.D. White LGBTQIA+ Yes No 
Mid, 

Prominent 
Unknown 

10 Geologist M.S. White LGBTQIA+ Yes No 
Mid, 

Prominent 
Yes 

11 
Computer 

Scientist 
Ph.D. 

Hispanic/ 

Black 
Unknown No Yes 

Mid, 

Prominent 
Unknown 

a LGBTQIA+ is an abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, 

asexual as well as other non-binary identifiers; Cishet is the combination of cisgender (identifying with 

gender as assigned at birth) and heterosexual (attracted to people of the opposite sex).  
b NSE is the abbreviation of “Native Speaker of English,” used to identify participants in our sample 

who speak English as their first language. 
c Post-Bacc is a post-baccalaureate program offered in the U.S. to prepare for additional programs such 

as medical school. 

 

5.1 Influencers/Role Models (Positive and Negative): 101 Responses 

In their interviews, all participants discussed influencers, which could take the form of mentors, role 

models, or detractors. Although the mentors were, as expected, from more senior positions than the 

participants, some peer-to-peer or community support and influence were also discussed.  

Five participants related information about male mentors and five concerning female mentors, while 

two did not mention the genders of their mentors. Two participants noted that the availability of female 

mentors was low or non-existent. Finally, seven participants referred to specific role models, all of 

whom were female, e.g.: 

 



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And . . ., you tend to look for role models. You tend to look for people who somehow are similar 

to you. That you, so you can put yourself in their shoes and imagine what you might be like or 

how you might succeed in the future. (Mathematician) 

In my own judgment, I’m not performing at the top of my capacity. But other, other blind folks, 

they tell me - we want to do science at the level you do the science. And then I think, oh, this is 

not good, this is not good at all! (Computer Scientist) 

Peer-to-peer mentorships were also mentioned as part of community building (8), e.g., 

 

Table 3. Number of Responses for Each of the Five Themes from the Qualitative Data 

Theme Total Collated Responses* 

Influencers/Role models  101 

Educational experiences  65 

Hurdles 56 

Attitude changes 44 

Recommendations 41 

Note. All participants responded at least once to each theme. 

 

I think, the group of friends that I had at the time, a lot of us were like-minded. We were all 

interested in, you know, biology or some sort of an engineering field...I think that helped keep 

me on-path as well because I had good friends that, we could all study together and work 

together and encouraged each other throughout the process. (Engineer) 

But an incredible thing that [female researcher] did, is she intentionally hired women. Like that 

was part of her agenda was to have a club-like lab that was very female positive and certainly 

like men that worked in the lab also…. (Technologist/Pre-medical Student) 

About half of the participants (6) mentioned detractors or negativity in general, with two 

participants reflecting on specific persons or instances and the remaining four participants 

reflecting more broadly, e.g.,  

Have you heard of the phrase ‘racism without racists?’ It’s not like there were people who were 

being violent or verbally abusive or offensive or anything, more just like a general sense that 

there were opportunities and ways of being that other people had access to that I maybe had to 

work a little harder for. (Technologist/Pre-Medical Student) 

. . . the disabled woman is by herself. I find that is true. I find myself very self-reliant, and I like 

life. But that has, that has a huge effect...on your performance in daily life. Because if I would 

be, if I would be an abled woman, I would have a way right to do my work…and to be [seen as 

capable]. (Computer Scientist) 



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I feel like around the observatory, the people that work I work mostly...tend [to view me] at a 

lower status level [with a master’s degree] than the Ph.D.s. There’s not much question about that, 

except among the younger people, and mostly they’ve used my software *Laughter*. (Software 

Developer) 

Community is critically essential to underserved audiences, whether it comprises mentor-mentee 

relationships or peer-to-peer networks. Positive instances of community, and particularly mentors or 

role models, were prioritized by most interviewees as having a substantial effect on their determination, 

success, or contentment with career or work circumstances. Conversely, negative influences in the 

community, or detractors, were either accumulated into larger conglomerations of negativity 

experienced over time or were singled out in specific detailed stories that seemed to have a lasting 

impact on the interviewees. Additionally, such negative influences did not always come from outside 

the underrepresented community. However, they were occasionally insiders who would have 

presumably also experienced the biases and stereotypes of the participants during their careers or 

education. 

5.2 Educational Experiences: 65 Responses 

All participants mentioned having been interested in science since they were very young. They 

expressed how their interests in STEM stretched back to early childhood days (e.g., “I always loved 

animals and trying to figure out how things worked” (Engineer); “[I was] always looking at the sky” 

(Radio Astronomer); “[I enjoyed] watching Nova” (Mathematician); “I did a lot of reading on my own 

about science and physics” (Cosmologist); “I played with Lego’s and I took apart my Transformers” 

(Geologist); and “I had always had this interest in geology, and it went on and on” (Software 

Developer)).  

The participants mentioned a range of educational experiences, both formal and informal, as well as 

diverse educational backgrounds. Formal education backgrounds included private schools and 

universities, public schools (including two public schools that specialized in STEM), and universities, 

specifically Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). They also took advantage of 

informal learning such as museums, books, television series, special programs, and science fairs, all of 

which were part of their pathways into STEM.  

Encouragement seemed an essential aspect within this theme and connects with the prior theme 

concerning role models. Most participants recalled encouragement from someone in their very young 

years, mostly from teachers (4) or parents (3). For example, three participants mentioned looking up at 

the night sky with their families. Three other participants mentioned wanting to be something specific 

when they were little (an astronaut, doctor, or teacher), and three mentioned having parents that 

encouraged science and math activities at home or after school from an early age: 

 



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I do feel again lucky to have had parents who, from day one, just never questioned my ability to 

do anything. I mean, they were certainly very explicitly encouraging of my ability to be good in 

math and science. But it was, but they were just very supportive and encouraging in general. 

(Technologist/Pre-Medical Student).  

Three participants also mentioned having family members who were scientists, Ph.D. researchers, or 

engineers that helped give them an insider’s perspective and additional educational opportunities or 

insights. One participant recalled that she felt as if she belonged in STEM even though she did not 

mention specific educational experiences or encouragement from someone at a young age (“No one 

seemed to ever question me being there when I was growing up,” and [science and math] “that was my 

spot” (Science Writer)). Many of these responses reflected on the role of positive influences in 

education at home or school, e.g., 

So, from an early age, I had a predisposition to STEM activities. I mean, there was an emphasis 

on it at home. Of course: math is important, science is important. (Mathematician) 

I had a really great teacher in high school for biology, which helped to cement my college major 

choice as biology. (Engineer) 

Eight participants discussed the demographics or changing representation within their classes in either 

high school or college, with the majority of responses focused on the lack of equal representation in the 

student body, as well as a lack of equal representation in their educators, and how that had affected the 

culture of their classes. However, some mentions also stood out for positive or negative feelings, e.g.: 

I noticed the [high school] classmates around me started to dwindle down, and I’ll never 

forget...I looked around the room, and I was the only Black woman. (Astronomer) 

The library is where I used to do my problem sets. And the math library, not the general library, 

because I used to want, you know, look up stuff in books that were only in the math library, and 

I would be there pretty late and it wasn’t, it didn’t take me so long to realize that the women’s 

bathroom closed at 5 o’clock because the only women in the building were the secretaries and 

they locked up the bathroom before they left . . .And the first time I realized this, I had to walk 

in the snow to go to the bathroom and then come back to the library. (Mathematician) 

Only one of the 11 participants, the geologist, had a markedly positive experience in this area of 

representation across her educational program: 

And you know, just there were a lot of other cool women [in my grad school program], so it was 

a good mix of students pretty much 50/50, and so it was, I don’t know if I’ve been, if I have 

particularly good judgment which is, or if I had good luck, I’m sure it’s a mixture of a little bit 

of both. But I, I always have managed to land in environments that are not toxic. (Geologist) 

These quotes highlighted the importance of formal and informal educational experiences and how they 

affected the participants’ career development. They also reinforced the significance of encouragement 



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for young women towards education in STEM from trusted sources in their lives that have a say in 

education, such as parents, teachers, or caregivers, given the positive influence they can exert starting 

from an early age. This impact can help to counter any hurdles encountered. 

5.3 Hurdles: 56 Responses 

In their interviews, all participants discussed hurdles they faced in their careers. These focused mainly 

on personal issues of motherhood (3), policy issues (4), or biases against gender, disability, sexuality, 

race, or educational level (10).  

All of the women provided examples of discrimination in some form in either education (5) or 

career-related situations (4). Most examples seemingly fell between microaggressions (3) and 

unconscious biases (5). Four of the participants mentioned they did not recognize biases until later: 

My advisor challenged me a lot to reflect on my own experiences and to come to terms with it 

frankly because...when I was in elementary school [and] high school, I think I was just oblivious 

to the way I was being treated. (Mathematician) 

One of the participants mentioned that they did not yet, at the time, have the vocabulary to process their 

experiences in reference to broader frameworks they would later understand: 

I’m sure there were microaggressions that I experienced all the time as a kid, and I definitely 

have some memories of these. But what really made it difficult for me to understand is that it 

wasn’t really until college that I had the, like, the liberal arts vocabulary to talk about maybe 

what was happening. (Technologist/Pre-medical Student). 

Participants’ reflections indicated a range of hurdles experienced, e.g.,  

For a lot of women, myself included, after getting married and starting a job, it’s hard to go back 

and get a graduate degree. I think that’s probably the main hurdle, and then if you start a family, 

that could be an additional hurdle, just your time that you are available to invest. 

(Engineer)...like what about pay scale? It’s one thing to have like 50 percent of their staff being 

women, but if they all make like 75 percent of the pay that a man at that same level would make, 

that’s certainly not equity. (Technologist/Pre-Medical Student) 

I’m Hispanic, Afro, Afro Puerto Rican proudly...I have a physical disability, and I’m a 

woman...and I think...if I would be a sighted woman in a room, how will it be? I would have lots 

more chances because when people talk to me, they don’t see the scientist. Once I lost my 

sight...the biggest shock was to notice that I didn’t have access to the same amount and quality 

of information that I had when I was sighted. I couldn’t understand the professors...they were 

just pointing at things on the blackboard. (Computer Scientist) 

Additionally, there were four specific incidences concerning a participant experiencing the burden of 

having to explain or over-compensate for differences in ethnicity, sexuality, ability, or educational level. 

The following quotes exemplify this additional pressure mentioned: 



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I think the burden comes from having to compensate. Yeah, that sometimes you get...cognitively 

tired. Right. Right. For having to compensate so much. You know, most of the time I do 

not...most of the time, I think—why do I have to interrupt this person to explain? Sometimes I 

just stay at the back of the room. (Computer Scientist) 

It’s just, it’s this constant feeling of you’re constantly having to prove yourself, that you deserve 

to sit at the table. (Astronomer) 

This theme of hurdles helps demonstrate the types of issues underrepresented groups in STEM face, 

particularly as related to intersectionality, and how those issues can be compounded when women 

identify with multiple groups. In addition, it is possible that attitudinal shifts among STEM 

practitioners over time can help to remove hurdles, biases, and other obstacles to success in their fields 

that these women might otherwise face. 

5.4 Attitude Changes: 44 Responses 

All participants discussed attitude changes, and nine expressly agreed that attitudes toward women in 

STEM had improved in most fields. However, five participants spoke on how not enough change has 

occurred to support women (as well as people who are non-binary, which is not a focus of this paper) in 

STEM, e.g.:  

Growing up in the 80s and 90s, there was a general understanding that getting more women into 

sciences is a good thing. There needed to be opportunities made and sexism was real...Then 

somewhere in the early 2000s, I started to perceive that people thought women were getting an 

unfair advantage. So, there was starting to be this kind of backlash where people would say, “Oh 

you know you’ll definitely get a job. Everybody’s trying to hire women” (Cosmologist). 

You know you ask the question - have we seen progress over the time at least in my professional 

lifetime. We have, but there is still the underlying culture that I don’t think will change until that 

generation moves on. (Mathematician) 

Expanding upon that concept, another grouping of five women mentioned that although representation 

had improved somewhat for women, there was not nearly enough change in specific subsets of 

underrepresented people, e.g.,  

I think there are some good changes that have [sic] happening. I know statistics, statistics-wise 

was the number of women in STEM field has increased since my time. But one thing that hasn’t 

changed much since kind of going into the STEM field is the number of minorities who are 

getting their masters, or they’re getting their Ph.D. And that hasn’t changed. So, it’s a little 

discouraging. (Astronomer) 

Even though, even though [all] the people that I know, all of the people that I know in the field 

that have jobs, that have permanent jobs, and have severe disabilities...the most I’m just talking 

about two, no not even three right. (Computer Scientist) 



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Though participants remarked upon positive attitude changes, the lack of enough substantial change 

was made clear. Underrepresentation in STEM for women remains a serious issue, compounded by 

additional marginalized identities. The emphasis on the impacts of negative stereotypes and potential 

backlash by perceived unfair advantages is also essential to consider in developing interventions with 

such groups, for which interviewees had a range of ideas. 

5.5 Recommendations: 41 Responses 

In giving recommendations for engaging or retaining young women in STEM fields, the participants 

commented on the need for positivity. They stressed the importance of not focusing solely on 

discouraging stories and challenging aspects, with the understanding that such negativity might 

dissuade even greater numbers of talented individuals from entering STEM fields. “I want them not to 

be scared - as we are not scared, right?” (Computer Scientist) 

Ten participants commented on the importance of changing policies or cultures to help retain more 

underrepresented groups in STEM, e.g.: 

I think that in all of these areas of bias and privilege and stuff, it is really, it’s the responsibility 

of the people who are in a position of greater privilege or power to work on making that change. 

You know, so I think that men need to speak up more against sexism. You know, White people 

need to speak up more against racism. People who are able-bodied need to speak up more 

against ableism...(Cosmologist) 

All of the advice is being given to women to tell them how to change, but it’s equally important 

to get existing culture to change to be more welcoming to women and other underrepresented 

groups. (Geologist) 

Other recommendations included mentorship and community (3) (relating to the first theme of 

influencers), as well as the potential for creating new communities in younger STEM fields (1): 

So, finding mentors and then finding community. So, and hopefully - if you’re lucky, you can 

find community in your own department. But if you can’t, there are other places to find 

community. There’s social media, there are - you know, make sure that you are not isolated. 

(Geologist) 

Planetary science: my theory about women in science is that when there’s a new field, that’s 

when there’s not as much of an ‘old boy network’ maybe, or that’s the way it’s been, and women 

can get into it. (Software Developer) 

Being cognizant of representation was also a strong message throughout many of the interviews, and in 

particular for women of color and people who are disabled:  

When I’m doing outreach events sometimes, a young African American is like, “Oh, your hair is 

so beautiful!” Others comment on what I’m wearing. I asked a colleague, “I don’t know why 

they do that...it always catches me off guard. I want to talk about this cool infrared 



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demonstration I’m doing. Thank you for complimenting me, but let’s focus on this.” But she 

said, “It’s because they see themselves in you.”(Astronomer) 

Now...people with disabilities, we are different among each other, as abled people are different 

among themselves. We are completely different. (Computer Scientist) 

From focusing on life-long learning to helping to enact positive change for others, to ensuring that 

negative stories and situations are not the sole focus of any single issue of working on 

under-representations in STEM, setting a positive stage for further work, and further change, in STEM 

fields was strongly encouraged. 

 

6. Discussion and Potential Impacts of the Findings 

From the five overall themes mentioned in the previous sections, multiple takeaways could be applied 

to further studies, such as the importance of access to role models and mentors. One additional point 

was an expression of concern that girls must be engaged with and encouraged in STEM fields before 

entering middle school. All participants but two recalled their movement towards STEM pathways 

starting at very young ages (as early as kindergarten). Furthermore, a few participants (3) specifically 

mentioned they had seen, experienced, or heard of girls “opting out” of STEM topics or feeling 

discouraged from STEM topics while still in elementary school. Additionally, it was clear from these 

interviewees that the broader STEM community needs to understand the importance of equity in 

information accessibility to help ensure that STEM materials and outputs are usable for disabled 

learners.  

Just over half of the interviewees (6) commented on the importance of discussing personal stories of 

failure, resilience, and creativity when communicating about STEM careers to help dispel the “genius” 

stigma often associated with such fields. An emphasis on “brilliance” as a primary criterion for success 

in STEM can create uncertainty for women, especially in more math-heavy fields. (Deiglmayr et al., 

2019). For example, the astronomer noted, “It was a huge misconception that I had, [STEM] was just 

these geniuses. They were really smart, things just came to them quickly, and that wasn’t the case with 

me.” Closely related to that was the need to help dispel the idea of perfection in STEM, a particular 

concern for interviewees and, importantly, for those who identified with other underrepresented 

subgroups. For instance: 

The [positive] fact that you see other people potentially talking about both successes and failures, 

because that’s the other half of that, seeing that, is that you know things that they’re not good at 

or not doing perfect, they’re not on the one true path...Which is going to affect women and 

minorities. (Radio Astronomer) 

The literature found to date did not contain qualitative research that investigated personal recollections 

of diverse women in STEM regarding how those recollections could be applied to understanding the 



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needs of underrepresented young female learners. This study helps to address that void. Although the 

demographics of the women interviewed represented various age groups and career stages, most 

participants were in a mid-career stage, with most participants in their 30s or 40s. The memories 

seemed still relatively fresh for the participants. Therefore, it is reasonable to posit that the time elapsed 

for many interviewees since the experiences they discussed either helped or harmed them in their 

STEM career paths was short enough to make the information helpful for analyzing current situations.  

Three primary findings from the study may directly impact work with young people focused on STEM. 

The first addressed the critical role of having a good mentor, role model, or support system along the 

girls’ pathways (whether in school, at home, or during activities). The second stressed the need to work 

with and engage females in STEM activities and subjects when they are as young as possible, 

preferably while in primary or elementary school. Finally, the third emphasized the importance of 

young girls believing in themselves. Overall, the interviewees’ responses could be interpreted as a call 

for developing a sense of STEM self-efficacy in young females.  

6.1 The Critical Role of Mentors, Role Models, and Support Systems 

The first main finding of the study is the importance of positive influencers in the capacity of mentors, 

role models, and similar peer or community systems of support for women in STEM. As the most 

discussed topic by the interviewees overall, it stood out in significance, with every participant 

mentioning it multiple times (just over 100 coded responses in total). This issue is a critical component 

that relates to the research question regarding how to moderate the obstacles and challenges that 

female-identifying underrepresented groups face. The underlying meanings of American astronaut 

Sally Ride’s often-quoted statement, “You can’t be what you can’t see” (Harvard Business Review, 

2012, para. 2), can be applied directly to opinions expressed by the participants of the study.  

Multiple participants remarked that being the only woman in the room, or among dwindling numbers of 

women and other underrepresented minorities in STEM, could have feelings of belonging, awareness 

of biases, and a lack of the network or community support in STEM. The interviewees emphasized the 

need for role models and mentors, as well as peer support, in their career paths and stressed the 

importance of having these from as early an age as possible. This point from the study supported the 

extant literature that has demonstrated the positive impact of mentorship and role models, specifically 

for women in STEM (Dennehy & Dasgupta, 2017; Marx & Roman, 2002; National Academies of 

Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2020; Stout et al., 2011).  

This finding also clarifies the need to continue the numerous STEM initiatives that involve aspects of 

mentorship or role modeling for students, particularly for underrepresented students such as females 

and people of color, in initiatives based at various universities. Programs in the U.S. that include 

mentorship are currently being run by organizations such as Million Women Mentors, US2020, and 

AmeriCorps (Kupersmidt et al., 2018). However, the finding suggests that by the time most current 



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programs impact their audiences, it could be too late to accomplish all that might be done for younger 

female learners. Therefore, this point extends the literature as it currently exists to underscore the 

importance of the early timing for these mentorship programs.  

6.2 Engagement in STEM at a Young Age 

The need for engagement in STEM at ages younger than middle school is the second main finding of 

this study. This point supports the literature to date (see, e.g., Bystydzienski et al., 2015; Hirsch et al., 

2011; Milgram, 2011; Sadler et al., 2012; Shapiro & Williams, 2012), clarifying that girls need to be 

encouraged toward STEM areas, which includes assistance in working against any perceived 

discouragement they might face, through actions of unconscious bias or more explicit stereotyping, 

well before they enter postsecondary education. In a large study by Microsoft (2017), 11,500 girls 

across 12 European countries reported that young female learners lose interest in STEM by age 15. A 

recent meta-analysis (Miller et al., 2018) examined studies of children in the U.S. who were asked to 

draw scientists. This analysis indicated that kindergarten girls often drew women scientists (70%). 

However, after that age, more highly stereotyped White and male “lone genius” images appeared 

progressively with each year, with drawings in the high school years showing women scientists only 

25% of the time (Miller et al., 2018).  

Additional literature has also demonstrated that intrinsic motivation in academics—or the desire to 

participate in an activity for the sake of the journey or challenge versus for an external reward or credit 

(Dhami, 2019)—decreases between grades three and eight (Lepper et al., 2005). Therefore, earlier ages, 

before middle grades and high school, might indeed be critical times to reach young female learners. 

This timing allows programs to positively impact girls before motivation levels change before biases 

are heavily entrenched, and before the further reinforcement of negative stereotypes, affecting these 

girls’ interest levels, self-efficacy, and engagement related to formulating STEM identities. In addition, 

there is the potential to engage young girls during early childhood in informal science centers 

(McGuire et al., 2020) and through activities in engineering and coding (Sullivan & Bers, 2019). This 

study expands on what parents, educators, museum communities, and other professionals might 

consider when developing interest, confidence, or self-efficacy in STEM topics for young female 

learners, particularly those who might be part of other historically disadvantaged groups.  

6.3 The Importance of Young Girls Believing in Themselves 

The study’s third primary finding was the importance of self-efficacy or believing in oneself and one’s 

abilities, for young female learners in STEM. Numerous discussions with the interviewees related to 

self-efficacy ranged from confidence building and coping mechanisms to dispelling the myths of genius 

and perfection as necessary steps for building a STEM identity. These issues are grouped under one 

all-encompassing giant umbrella of self-efficacy. Undergraduate women who highly identified with a 

virtual reality simulation portraying a successful future in STEM demonstrated a significant 



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improvement in factors such as motivation and perceived stereotype threat (Starr et al., 2019), 

indicating that technology can be a potential source of interventions, particularly in areas with a lack of 

in-person female mentors.  

Believing in oneself is also a key component that relates to the research question regarding the 

obstacles and challenges that female-identifying underrepresented groups can face, specifically 

concerning combatting sociocultural biases towards women in STEM. For example, Dare (2015) 

reported that unequal gender balances in STEM fields such as physics are not due to differences in 

intrinsic aptitudes but instead seem to draw partially from girls’ increasingly negative self-assessments, 

among other issues such as cultural conditioning and stereotypes. Correspondingly, although there is 

literature showing the judgments associated with the perception of STEM fields as not always a good 

fit with many middle school girls’ identities, there is also research suggesting that such judgments can 

potentially be overcome (Kager, 2015). It is, therefore, vital to study the factors that can positively 

affect these perceptions, particularly at developmentally critical periods, to create more impactful 

interventions. 

6.4 Additional Findings 

A key finding from the study related to the ideas of inherent STEM genius is the importance of 

emphasizing to young female learners that “scientists are made, not born” (Burke & Mattis, 2007, p. 4). 

This issue, as stressed by the interviewees, supports findings from the literature. For example, The 

Scientista Foundation, a large collective of U.S. women pursuing STEM degrees at various higher 

education institutions, links the concepts outlined by Gladwell (2008) that cleverly synthesized this 

distinction in a popular piece comparing experts and non-experts in sports, music, and other fields, with 

the expert being differentiated not by innate ability but by thousands of hours of practice (Mathews, 

2013). Further literature by Ericsson et al. (2007) goes into greater detail, studying and elucidating the 

concept of genius being made, not born, providing evidence through case studies. Interestingly, one 

example involved upsetting the notion that females had subpar spatial thinking through a case study 

demonstrating that three sisters became top-ranking female chess players through a regimented 

education program. Similar training programs can help women to gain and strengthen skills in STEM. 

Numerous STEM-based interventions for middle school girls, spanning a variety of models and 

disciplines, have demonstrated some effects on issues of self-efficacy in STEM, seeing oneself in 

STEM, or at least understanding the potential career options in STEM. Efforts connecting concrete 

skills and strategies to topics related to participants’ everyday lives have been shown to improve 

self-efficacy in STEM by helping to overcome the negative perceptions of STEM fields that may 

emerge during early adolescence (Ogle et al., 2017). Hands-on activities across STEM fields have 

demonstrated the practical applications of science and how they relate to ordinary pursuits while also 

increasing girls’ interest in school subjects and careers in STEM (Levine et al., 2015). 



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Engineering-based camps have been shown to boost engagement with STEM topics while also 

increasing interest in attending college by including interactive lab activities to build confidence along 

with female role models such as teachers, local STEM professionals, and high school girls serving as 

peer mentors who had previously participated in the camp (Frye et al., 2018). Therefore, the study 

supports this literature by stressing the importance of teaching self-efficacy and providing a realistic 

portrayal of life and work as a scientist (Starr et al., 2019) while extending this body of research by 

shifting the age range downward to include younger females. 

Finally, the importance of talking about imperfection was raised by several interviewees in the study, 

often intertwined with the problem of the genius stereotype mentioned previously. Integrating “growth” 

messaging into the language and culture of STEM can encourage students, especially women, to seek 

help (Covarrubias et al., 2019). Dispelling the genius myth was seen as a possible way to combat the 

culturally prevalent idea that one must be a mental giant to flourish in STEM fields, something they 

noted could be holding back young female learners, particularly those who also belong to other 

underrepresented groups. Perfectionism was referenced in the interviews, along with the issue of 

having to show up and constantly be “the best” to best represent your group. The struggle of constantly 

acting as the ideal representation of a specific group was a strong concern for those who identified with 

other underserved populations and aligned with higher stress levels they experienced, as previously 

noted in Rice et al. (2015). 

Learners with disabilities were another underrepresented group that faced barriers mentioned by the 

interview participants. Interviewees strongly recommended that STEM materials and outputs or 

formats be created with accessibility to work with all learners and not simply create special materials 

for a particular event with disabled learners. This suggestion and approach align with the research on 

Universal Design (UD)—a set of principles for designing materials that everyone can use, regardless of 

abilities (Luna, n.d.). 

Furthermore, another secondary finding from the study concerned the intersectional experiences of 

women who identified with additional underserved communities besides gender, implying a hierarchy 

of burden. This was expressed such that race, ethnicity, or disability, for example, could outweigh 

gender in terms of the number of biases and stereotypes that must be fought in their STEM fields. This 

study does not claim to show that there is a hierarchy of oppression, but rather that the participants of 

this study specifically noted how certain identities could cost more for them in terms of needing to 

overcome cultural biases and stereotypes while handling additional pressures related to their workloads. 

This is an important cultural challenge to consider for female-identifying groups in STEM overall, and 

awareness of such an obstacle could perhaps have implications as to how interventions are designed 

and conducted with such underrepresented female learners in the future.  

Related to this finding is the cognitive load some participants mentioned as a result of being considered 



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as “other” (in other terms, an “outsider within” (Rios & Stewart, 2014, p. 295) in their fields, 

workplaces, or careers. They were often expected to help inform, educate, or sway others who are not 

marginalized, so they felt pressure to be the absolute best models of their underrepresented groups and, 

therefore, could not fail (relating to the perfectionism discussed in the previous section). In addition, 

they were often placed in positions of having to do more or work harder to represent their underserved 

communities because of expectations being placed upon them, such as being asked to serve on more 

committees, provide diversity talks, or serve more often as mentors. These types of “performance 

pressures” (Settles, 2014, para. 3) and burdens have been noted for women in STEM more broadly, so 

it is understood that this pressure and burden could significantly increase if the person identifies with 

another marginalized group. It is helpful to consider such issues when working with underrepresented 

communities in STEM to increase potential career retention.  

 

7. Summary and Significance 

This study was primarily developed to help fill a void around a lack of research on how personal 

recollections of diverse women in STEM could be applied to developing interventions with 

underrepresented young female learners to encourage engagement with STEM disciplines. The fact that 

these diverse women in STEM with successful careers across a range of life stages considered it 

important to reach beyond high school and middle school-aged girls to elementary school-age girls 

sends an important message that extends the literature found to date. It perhaps also holds the key to 

helping change the current culture for these young learners to ensure that opportunities in STEM fields 

remain in their sights. The main findings from this study are significant for several reasons. First, as the 

interviewees noted, there is work to be done to help negate cultural and other biases and encourage 

young female learners to continue to move towards and within STEM-related pathways while helping 

them thrive in and throughout those pathways.  

Providing role models and mentorship is of critical importance. Reaching out to girls when they are 

young, in middle school but also younger, could be an important way to broaden many current 

interventions, help set young females on a STEM pathway, and give them tools for potential success. 

Working to combat stereotypes and biases for such underserved groups in STEM, which could include 

discussing the genius and the perfectionist fallacies, recognizing the burdens and pressures on 

additionally underrepresented groups, and providing materials that are universally accessible, also 

helps to build confidence, self-efficacy, and STEM identity in young girls.  

Finally, it is critical to note that this study is not about “fixing” young females but instead should be 

viewed as helping to identify how the STEM community can assist underserved populations in 

overcoming negative implicit or explicit biases and discouragements, building confidence and 

self-envisioning in STEM, and further developing or acquiring the skills needed for STEM topics that 



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might be overlooked or delayed due to cultural conditioning and stereotyping.  

7.1 Limitations 

As with any research, there were limitations to this study. These limitations were the small sample size 

(n = 11) and the fact that the distribution of participants came from a convenience sample who agreed 

to volunteer to participate from within the researcher’s more extensive professional network in the 

United States. Consequently, the sample comprises space-related scientists and researchers in their 30s 

and 40s, with many in a mid-career stage. Any researcher biases resulting from being in a similar 

demographic might have been overlooked in the analysis of the interviewees’ responses. Also, the 

method of individual interviews might have been a limitation in terms of what might have been 

discussed or emphasized had the interviews been conducted in a focus group. 

7.2 Practical Considerations and Recommendations 

To improve the potential results in future studies, the researchers recommend repeating the interviews 

with different, larger sample sizes, spread geographically in locations beyond the United States, and 

spread further across the career trajectory with a better balance of early career and advanced career 

women. In addition, adding more participants would benefit from gaining more information, 

viewpoints, and perspectives that could be analyzed and further applied to STEM interventions.  

Future researchers might also consider conducting in-person focus groups in which the participants 

could compare and contrast their thoughts in a dynamic and responsive environment. Such settings, 

where participants can listen to others and expand their responses based on feedback and inputs, might 

uncover additional experiences, perspectives, and potential approaches for future studies. Additionally, 

expanding such studies to obtain the viewpoints of participants who are non-binary, as well as males in 

STEM, either in single-sex groups and/or in mixed groups, would be ideal for improving this research. 

This study focused on women in STEM, but it is important to consider and include perspectives and 

concerns from other marginalized groups—particularly people who are non-binary, for whom there is 

not much research in this area to date, but who can report higher levels of discomfort as well as 

harassing behavior aimed at them in their STEM jobs (Gibney, 2019).  

Adding a cohort of male professionals in STEM to future studies who might be working through 

unconscious biases or stereotypes and who might also be potential allies to help support issues facing 

young women in STEM could help further inform future work. Male STEM researchers who are in a 

majority racial or ethnic group may contribute insight from what can be thought of as a position of 

privilege (Etchells et al., 2017) and, as such, could help leverage strategically potential advantages as 

allies (O’Donnell, 2019) for issues outside of their own experiences. It is also important to capture 

future data on males of color in STEM who are in marginalized groups themselves. For example, Black 

or Hispanic males in STEM in the United States are underrepresented and report facing discrimination 

in the workforce (Funk & Parker, 2018). Recent reports have shown that the representation of African 



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Americans in topics like physics and astronomy can be improved through culturally and financially 

supportive environments (American Institute of Physics, 2020). Further developments of this research 

could consider other similarly underrepresented populations.  

In summary, although this was a small-scale and exploratory qualitative study, the results were 

academically important and could potentially be built upon, including for applications to other 

underrepresented groups, through future research and expanded qualitative studies. 

 

Acknowledgments 

This paper was supported by the University of Otago, New Zealand with some additional support from 

NASA under contract NAS8-03060.  

 

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