Assessing and Improving Girls' and Women's Math Identity (2023-2024)

The gender gap in STEM fields exists at all levels, from childhood through career selection, and there are many different, but often related, causes for female underrepresentation. One major cause of the gender gap is women’s and girls’ math identity – their beliefs, attitudes and emotions about math and STEM. This identity can negatively influence their interest and motivation in STEM fields, even if their own abilities and performance demonstrate strength in these areas.

Building on the work of previous teams, this project team sought to improve girls’ and women’s math identity by:

Expanding and refining the curriculum for Girls Exploring Math (GEM), an innovative program designed to address the gender gap in math. Team members developed hands-on, problem-based math material designed to help students visualize, explore and discover concepts, along with age-appropriate social science discussions and activities on gender/STEM topics.
Implementing a series of free workshops for middle school girls that aims to improve their math identity.
Assessing and promoting the program through designing assessment surveys, bolstering the program’s social media presence and conducting relevant literature reviews.

Learn more about this team’s work by reading their team profile.