CURRENT SITUATION
Society feeds the perception that STEM is a male domain. Yet women's skills are equal to men's. Whether on a local or global scale, women in STEM are carrying out innovative and impactful projects, making a significant contribution to the progress of society as a whole.
Deconstructing stereotypes to build the future
Present everywhere, science and technology shape our daily lives. In this context, Quebec organizations are very active in their search for qualified labor.
Thus, important functions in sectors of great influence demonstrate the absence of parity.
This underrepresentation perpetuates stereotypes and unconscious biases, such as:
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Women are less interested in science than men
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They don't have the same skills
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They are less successful than men
Why act together?
Many factors lead young people to become interested in science. These factors include cultural context, family environment and teaching methods¹ and build the mental image we have of scientists.
Educational research shows that girls are less likely to consider a career in STEM. This ability to project oneself into a scientific career is called “science identity,” and it is malleable.
After parents, teachers have the greatest impact on the education of young people. Certain attitudes or teaching strategies can encourage young women to see themselves as scientists².
Did you know?
In Quebec, the graduation rate for women in STEM programs has been stagnating for nearly 50 years. However, graduation rates from all university programs combined has increased markedly for women during this same period.
Reference:
Contribute to increasing the number of female STEM students.
As a rule, young people's career choices are in line with the gender already represented in their chosen profession. But the good news is that educational research shows that it's possible to learn about the unconscious biases that occur during young people's career choices.
In collaboration with Quebec's colleges and high schools, the Parité sciences team encourages and supports the teaching community to awaken and maintain female students' interest in STEM.
Hear Marylou's testimonial. (French)
Are you part of the educational community?
Together with your colleagues across Quebec, you're at the heart of the solution to generate significant impact, break down barriers and deconstruct stereotypes.
Parité sciences soutient les membres de la communauté éducative dans ses efforts pour aborder les enjeux liés représentation des femmes en sciences, technologies, ingénierie et mathématiques (STIM) dans le but d’augmenter l’identité scientifique des étudiantes.
To learn more
Information pulled from:
¹ Analyse des attitudes envers les sciences chez des élèves du secondaire d’origine haïtienne de milieux défavorisés de la région de Montréal et Interest, motivation and attitude towards science and technology at K-12 levels: A systematic review of 12 years of educational research
https://papyrus.bib.umontreal.ca/xmlui/handle/1866/4953 and https://doi.org/10.1080/03057267.2014.881626
² La dualité ethnographe-physicienne: Étude réflexive sur les négociations identitaires en physique [Doctoral dissertation, Université de Montréal ; Connecting high school physics experiences, outcome expectations, physics identity, and physics career choice: A gender study ;
Diversité des genres en SG : un résumé de la situation des femmes en sciences et en génie ; and Des actions pédagogiques pour guider des filles et des femmes en STIM: Sciences, technos, ingénierie et maths