Routledge Gender Equity in STEM in Higher Education: International Perspectives on Policy, Institutional Culture, and Individual Choice (Routledge Research in STEM Education)

This timely volume brings together a range of international scholars to analyse cultural, political, and individual factors which contribute to the continued global issue of female underrepresentation in STEM study and careers. Offering a comparative approach to examining gender equity in STEM fields across countries including the UK, Germany, the United States, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Africa, and China, the volume provides a thematic breakdown of institutional trends and national policies that have successfully improved gender equity in STEM at institutions of higher education. Offering case studies that demonstrate how policies interact with changing social and cultural norms, and impact women’s choices and experiences in relation to the uptake and continuation of STEM study at the undergraduate level, the volume highlights new directions for research and policy to promote gender equity in STEM at school, university, and career levels. Contributing to the United Nations’ (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, this text will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with an interest in science education, higher education, and gender equity in STEM fields. The text will also support further discussion and reflection around multicultural education, educational policy and politics, and the sociology of education more broadly. Review "Gender, STEM, and education are mainstays of global economic and development agendas, but finally Ro, Fernandez, and Ramon have created a broadly representative collection of empirical and conceptual work that addresses issues of access at the institutional level alongside accounts of the experiences and choices that individual women make as part of their everyday experiences and inequities as they participate in STEM education and eventually in their professional lives as well. This volume bridges the macro-to-micro gap better than any I’ve seen on this topic." – Alexander W. Wiseman, Professor of Educational Psychology & Leadership, Texas Tech University, USA "The editors and contributors of this penetrating volume fill a hole in the comparative higher education literature. Readers will appreciate the attention to the worldwide pipeline, to intersectionality, and to policy approaches that may effect greater gender equity in STEM at a global level." -- David M. Post, Professor of Education at Pennsylvania State University and Past-President of Comparative and International Education Society, USA "A talented group of emerging scholars have spearheaded a timely contribution to STEM higher education on six continents. It will, undoubtedly, make significant contributions to factors affecting linkages among gender and university enrollments and degree completions. This anthology impressively discusses topics – culture, demographics, geography, and statistics – as variables, contributing to enhanced comprehension of STEM and its impact on higher education among different types of university structures." --Beverly Lindsay, Co-Director and Principal Investigator of Ford Foundation Grant, University of California, USA "Gender Equity in STEM provides a balance and much needed examination of gender and STEM at the global level, and, across ten countries. The balance of statistical analyses of patterns over time, and deeper qualitative examinations of specific dynamics offers readers a nuanced understanding of gender and STEM beyond assumptions about lack of preparation for girls, gender stereotyping, and chilly climates within STEM fields. It is an important book for moving our thinking beyond equality toward understanding and action for equity. The collection of case studies, both quantitative and qualitative, contextualize how gender in STEM fields plays out and what inhibits or enables equitable practices and outcomes." --Karen Monkman, Professor Emerita of Education Policy, DePaul University, USA "Science is the hope of the world yet most of the world is exclu