How individuals come to perceive themselves in STEM is predicated on their understanding of what it means to be a member of the STEM community. This association is consequential when considering the perpetuation of white male ownership of STEM knowledge and power that forces learners identifying with groups systemically marginalized by racial and…

Creating equitable learning environments has been an area of significant focus for physics education researchers in recent years. Here we introduce a framework that posits that grade penalty is a measure of academic self-concept and investigate if there are gender differences in grade penalties in physics courses for students majoring in physics.…

Students who seemingly do not fit the masculine ideal of an entrepreneur rarely consider entrepreneurship as a suitable career path due to a lack of identification and perceived feasibility. To challenge the masculinization of entrepreneurship, we drew from contemporary literature on gender role stereotypes to design a course that enables business…

The gender imbalance in computer science (CS) is one of the most challenging issues in American education. CS is the only science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field in which women's representation has steadily declined in recent decades. In this study, we explored one potential approach that could be effective in increasing…

Purpose: This study identifies gendered disparities among women students participating in work-integrated learning and explores the effects of the disparities on their perceptions on perceived opportunities, competencies, sense of belonging, and professional identity. Design/methodology/approach: A series of semi-structured focus groups were run…

This action research project centers the narratives of women and nonbinary students of color as they navigate leadership roles within student government at Ivy League institutions. The overarching aim of the project is to develop an understanding of the barriers to participation for women and nonbinary students of color and collaboratively…

Higher education scholarship has underscored how contextual influences within and outside institutional settings influence students' developmental journeys. A subset of research has examined how Latinx/a/o students broach questions of identity while in college and how families inform their development. Yet, little scholarship has investigated how…

Postsecondary institutions of education, similar to the broader society in which they are embedded, are steeped in and further trans* oppression. In addition, the knowledge produced at these institutions is inflected with trans* oppression, and continues to reify the notion that trans* lives and experiences are abject, abnormal, unintelligible,…

This qualitative descriptive study aimed to explore how nineteen Latina college students described their unique challenges as Hispanic women and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) students while attending a STEM program at three Hispanic Serving Institutions in southern California. Women, particularly Latinas, remain vastly…

As recent attacks on the rights of women and gender minorities exemplify, sexism and gender privilege are structural forces ingrained in the fabric of U.S. society. Unfortunately, higher education is not immune to such structural forces and can reinforce the power associated with gender privilege. This phenomenological research study, in concert…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the complex juncture of gender and experiences of trauma in college. Two research questions guided this investigation: (a) How does gender intersect with an individual's experience(s) of trauma during college? and (b) What sociocultural contexts shape the role of gender intersecting with…

Gender bias, reduced sense of belonging, and lower physics self-efficacy are among the challenges faced by women who choose to study physics. Prior studies focusing on this underrepresented group have examined the experiences and impacts of formal educational settings, leaving the impact of informal physics programs, frequently called outreach…

This research aims to address the paucity of research exploring the impact of formative experiences shaping the trajectory of young people entering higher education outdoor education programmes. Ten participants (n=10) were recruited from a college outdoor education programme this consisted of 6 male (n=6) age range 18-26 and 4 Females (n=4) age…

Black women engineering students often find themselves in an uninviting space in a field dominated by White men. Thus, as Black women matriculate toward completion of their engineering degrees, they encounter instances of racism, sexism, and prejudice that result from the intersection of their race and gender. In an effort to identify and…

Asynchronous, online interactions are increasingly common, particularly in education, but relatively little is known about the influence of social identity in these environments. We test for the presence of race/place-of-origin and gender biases among students and instructors in asynchronous online post secondary classes by measuring responses to…