Assessing and Improving Girls’ and Women’s Math and STEM Identity (2026-2027)

Background

Although women now earn bachelor’s degrees at higher rates than men and make up nearly half the U.S. workforce, they remain significantly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. Only 27% of STEM workers are women, and gender bias in representation is widespread — for example, only about 20% of Wikipedia biographies feature women, and more than 80% of Wikipedia editors are men.

Research shows that women encounter systemic obstacles across STEM education and STEM workplaces. These include gender discrimination in hiring and pay, under-recognition of their contributions, microaggressions and chilly or hostile work environments. These structural dynamics shape women’s STEM identity development long before they enter the workforce.

This project draws on research about preparation for bias to investigate how women learn about, anticipate and navigate bias in STEM. The team will explore how awareness of barriers interacts with persistence, confidence and long-term engagement in STEM careers.

Project Description

This project includes three interconnected strands of research and program development focused on STEM identity, preparation for bias and representation.

1. Research and public scholarship on women in STEM: Students will participate in a Wikipedia editathon hosted at Duke to increase public visibility of historical women in STEM. They will research and write new biographies, identify reliable sources and collaborate with WikiProject Women in Red, a volunteer effort that aims to reduce gender imbalance on the platform.
2. Evaluation of curricula addressing STEM identity and bias: Students will participate in two educational programs:
   • A preparation for bias curriculum for undergraduates and graduate students, focused on bias literacy, response strategies and empowerment.
   • A math identity summer workshop for middle school girls, which features interactive math investigations and visits to woman-led labs at Duke. Students will help refine pre- and post-surveys to evaluate program impact.
3. Interviews with STEM professionals on preparation for bias: Students will help refine and implement an interview protocol designed to explore how women in STEM learned about potential bias and how that preparation affected their career trajectories. Team members will conduct interviews with 60 women who graduated with STEM degrees from Duke, UNC and NC State between 2010 and 2020 — half who remain in STEM careers and half who have since left. Interview data will be analyzed to identify patterns related to preparation, persistence and workplace experience.

Through these activities, students will contribute to ongoing research on STEM identity and gender equity, while also developing practical strategies to support women and girls in STEM.

Anticipated Outputs

• Student-led Wikipedia editathon
• New or expanded Wikipedia biographies of women in STEM
• Surveys and evaluation instruments for preparation for bias and summer workshops
• Refined preparation for bias curriculum
• Interview protocols and de-identified qualitative data
• Publications and conference presentations on findings

Student Opportunities

Ideally, this project team will include 4 graduate students and 15 undergraduate students. Students from all disciplines who are committed to understanding and addressing gender bias in STEM are encouraged to apply. Participants should be comfortable engaging in discussions about identity, bias and gender, and should be excited about documenting the accomplishments of women in STEM and conducting research interviews.

Students will gain experience in:

• Qualitative interview methods and analysis
• Writing and editing for Wikipedia
• Bias literacy and bias response strategies
• Survey design and evaluation
• Communication and public outreach
• Mentorship and peer network-building

Graduate students with experience in interviewing or statistical analysis will have opportunities to mentor undergraduate interview teams and support data analysis. Students will also participate in weekly meetings in both fall and spring and receive training from faculty and librarians on Wikipedia editing, interview preparation and qualitative research methods.

The team will collaborate closely with Duke and UNC partners. Durham Public Schools will continue to support recruitment for the middle school workshops.

In Fall 2026, the team will meet on Tuesdays from 3:05-4:20 p.m.

Timing

Summer 2026 – Summer 2027

Summer 2026 (optional):

• Two-week math workshop for middle school girls
• Refinement of workshop assessments
• Refinement of preparation for bias curriculum and survey instruments

Fall 2026:

• Preparation for bias curriculum implementation
• Data collection and weekly class sessions
• Planning and hosting of Wikipedia editathon

Spring 2027:

• Continued curriculum sessions
• Interviews with STEM alums
• Preliminary qualitative analysis

Summer 2027 (optional):

• Middle school workshops
• Manuscript preparation

Crediting

Academic credit available for fall and spring semesters

See earlier related team, Assessing and Improving Girls' and Women's Math and STEM Identity (2025-2026).