Sapna Cheryan, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
University of Washington

Undoing gender disparities: Increasing women’s participation in STEM by changing cultures

Despite having made significant inroads into a variety of traditionally male-dominated fields, women continue to be underrepresented in computer science, engineering, and physics. Many theories have been put forth to explain this phenomenon, ranging from innate female inferiority in quantitative skills to an unwillingness by women to put in late hours. My research shifts the explanation for this underrepresentation away from women’s deficiencies and instead proposes that cultural factors (e.g., male-oriented stereotypes, current educational policy) explain current gender gaps in these fields. First, I will present studies demonstrating that cultural factors discourage women and girls from entering these fields. Then, I will offer evidence for how our society can make cultural changes to decrease current gender gaps. Making STEM cultures more inclusive is fundamentally important to reducing current gender disparities.

Dr. Cheryan's talk is part of her promotion review in the Department of Psychology.