Though research efforts have been conducted to understand the strategies to increase female participation in STEM and relevant areas, including the construction field, still the desired outcomes have not been forthcoming. This study proposes to explore the innovative use of 360-degree immersive environments powered by virtual characters to tell stories of the construction field from females' perspectives (VR-Women). Immersive storytelling integrates storytelling with a 360-degree immersive environment (e.g., 360-degree panoramas and videos), where the audiences can actively observe unbroken views of a whole region surrounding audiences by the movement of the head or the device. These low-cost, simple-to-capture representations are true-to-reality and allow tech-savvy young audiences to see first-hand how the learning environment and workplace might look with a strong sense of presence. VR-Women is assessed using social cognitive career theory, where four students' cognitive factors are measured before and after experiencing VR-Women. This study introduces the creation and development process of the immersive story in detail, examines how immersive storytelling affects students' cognitive factors towards the construction fields, and how students' personal and contextual influences play a role in VR-Women's outcome. The results can enhance our understanding of immersive storytelling's potential influence in motivating students and ultimately attracting them to the STEM fields in a financially efficient manner. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]