You sit in a mathematics class, confused, but you choose to stay silent. You look around, wondering whether anyone else is struggling. You want to raise your hand, but you hesitate. What if the question is seen as “dumb”? What if everyone else understands, and you don’t? Instead, you stay quiet and hope the teacher moves on. For many students worldwide, asking for help is not simply a matter of admitting they don’t understand something. It also involves confidence, embarrassm

Have you ever gone to buy a coffee and ordered your usual? Why that one? Probably not because you tried every coffee on the menu and crowned a winner. More likely, it reflects how much money was in your account that day, or a cappuccino your mum once bought you that you’ve never quite moved on from. Our educational choices work in similar ways, often to a much greater extent. It can feel as if everyone has an opinion on what is best for you, and what you actually want gets ta

DIVA has thoroughly examined how gender-based stereotypes affect girls in STEM. But the picture is incomplete without the other side: how the same biases affect boys. The inequities that create barriers for girls also shape boys’ experiences in STEM, and in school and work more broadly. The stereotypes that hold girls back can also constrain boys, though in different ways. McGuire et al. (2020) surveyed 997 children and teenagers at science centres in the UK and US. Across al

The media has long shaped social norms and stereotypes, and social media is now amplifying that influence. For decades, this has made it harder to encourage women in STEM. Think back to almost any popular scripted TV show or sitcom. The nerdy character is a familiar cliché: he dresses badly, has no friends, is always studying and is painfully socially awkward. The trope is especially damaging when this character is a boy who can’t talk to girls, as though girls are obviously

Motivation is a spark Imagine someone who has completely lost the desire to do something. They feel stuck, discouraged, or simply don’t believe they can move forward. Then, suddenly, something changes. They watch someone accomplish what they once thought was impossible. Someone encourages them. They hear a story that resonates with them. They see a person who looks like them succeeding in a field they once thought they didn’t belong in. Then a part of them says, “Maybe I can

To what extent have opportunities for women in STEM improved, and what barriers still remain today? Then: Women across STEM fields Biology and natural sciences. Women were present in natural history long before they were credited. The Linnean Society elected its first women Fellows in 1904, after years of campaigning by botanist Marian Farquharson. She was herself blackballed and only admitted in 1908. Even today, only about 22% of Linnean Fellows are women. Chemistry. The fi

To what extent does the separation between “creative” and “scientific” subjects influence students’ academic choices? What comes to mind when I say “painter”? You probably imagine someone surrounded by canvases, paintbrushes, and colorful paint, maybe even with paint splattered all over their clothes. But what comes to mind when I say “scientist”? You probably picture someone in a long white lab coat, surrounded by test tubes, microscopes, and complicated formulas. These two

Women and girls are increasingly present in STEM education and careers. However, their participation is not distributed equally across all STEM disciplines. While girls are relatively well represented in biology and life sciences, they remain underrepresented in physics and related fields. This difference raises an important question: why do many girls choose biology while fewer pursue physics? Research suggests that the answer lies not in ability, but in social perceptions,

The trajectory of a young girl’s relationship with math often looks like a steady climb that suddenly hits a fog bank. In primary school, she’s solving equations with speed and glee. By middle school, that confidence begins to flicker. It isn’t that the math got too hard; it’s that the environment around her started to change. The "Math Confidence Gap" isn’t born; it’s cultivated. And while we often blame textbooks or teachers, the most potent influence is the quiet, everyday

The transition from childhood to adolescence is often described as blooming, but for many girls and their relationship with mathematics, it feels more like vanishing. It’s that time when a vibrant “I can solve anything” attitude is replaced by a quiet and devastating internal monologue : “I’m just not a math person”. To understand why this happens, we need to look at the lives of the girls standing at the blackboard. Twelve-year-old Leyla used to keep her math tests at the to

It all starts when a little girl is given a doll while a little boy is given a toolbox, and they are told to only stick with those paths. Gender based discrimination in the workplace is still a pressing issue today, especially in the male dominated STEM fields. However, gender expectations happen much further back than the workforce, they start in the minds of young children. It has been a common stereotype that girls are somehow less adapted to the STEM field than boys are,

Every teacher wants their students to be ambitious, set goals, and succeed. The way schools instill drive in their students is critical for success- but the messages spread to girls about ambition can alter one’s track from a young age. Starting in elementary school, girls are prompted to measure their initiative carefully: enough to show motivation and learning, but not too much to be intimidating, unrealistic, or too individualistic. But how are these ideas fostered in stud

There are many education systems throughout the world, but how does each one tackle the issue of equality? What are the factors which influence a student’s ability to thrive and perform beyond expectation? This lies in how students are challenged, evaluated and expected to perform by the education systems. How are student’s capabilities suitably challenged? As no students are built with the same needs, many schools implement a ‘streaming’ ; where students are separated based

STEM fields are often described as spaces of equal opportunity, where success depends on talent and effort. In theory, they are open to everyone. However, research shows that women still experience these environments differently, often finding them less inclusive than expected. As students move from academic settings into real-world environments, these differences become more visible. This gap is not only the result of structural inequalities, but is also strongly shaped by i

Representation, in simple terms, means participating on behalf of someone or something in a given field or event — and it directly influences individual participation and performance as well. Representation of girls, especially in mathematics, is truly essential. Mathematics is an important field of study that shapes our entire world. From the phone you're reading this article on, to a simple flower, to our planet and the solar system — everything is guided by mathematics. Wh

Marie Curie, Ellen Ochoa, Mae Jemison, and so many other incredible women have been making important contributions to science and math for centuries — so why are they still being underpaid and underappreciated? The fact of the matter is that women and non-binary people have been conditioned to feel less confident in their abilities, especially in STEM environments. According to a 2007 report by the U.S. Department of Education, "confidence in girls plummets in high school mat

Girls are just as capable in maths and science as boys, but confidence tells a different story. According to the American Association of University Women (AAUW), girls earn grades equal to or higher than boys in maths and science, yet they are less likely to believe they’re good at these subjects. Confidence, not ability, is often the difference International data from the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, an international group that studies educ