UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES WITH ASSUMPTIONS OF INFERIORITY IN ENGINEERING GROUP WORK SETTINGS

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2025

Abstract

People stereotype women to be less skilled and competent in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) than men [Nosek, B. A., Smyth, F. L., Sriram, N., Lindner, N. M., Devos, T., Ayala, A., Bar-Anan, Y., Bergh, R., Cai, H., Gonsalkorale, K., & Kesebir, S. (2009). National differences in gender– science stereotypes predict national sex differences in science and math achievement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106(26), 10593–10597]. These stereotypic beliefs can leak out in words and behaviors as microaggressions—defined as brief everyday verbal, behavioral, or environmental slights directed toward someone due to their social category [Sue, D. W. (2010). Microaggressions in everyday life: Race, gender, and sexual orientation. John Wiley & Sons].—and can be a hindrance to women’s persistence and inclusion in STEM fields. In the current research we utilized a mixed methods approach to document the content and presence of microaggressions in undergraduate engineering group work settings among women and men. In Study 1, focus groups with women and men engineering students (N = 43) revealed that women reported experiencing microaggressions in the form of assumptions of inferiority or behaviors suggesting that they possess inferior STEM skills and competence. In Study 2, we developed a behavioral coding rubric to document the presence of assumptions of inferiority among women and men students (N = 260) in engineering teams as judged by trained independent observers. In Study 2 observations revealed that more women were the target of assumptions of inferiority than men, corroborating self-report findings. Moreover, although our studies focused on gender-based microaggressions, Study 2 observational coding revealed People of Color were the targets of assumptions of inferiority more than White people. Results complement prior self-report data and indicate that diversity and inclusion efforts should focus on reducing the presence of microaggressions in peer STEM contexts.

Publication Title

Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering

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