“STEMing the Tide: Female Experts and Peers act as “Social Vaccines” that Inoculate Young Women against Stereotypes and Increase their Participation in STEM Careers”
Nilanjana Dasgupta is a social psychologist whose work focuses on the effects of social contexts on implicit stereotypes – particularly on factors which insulate women in STEM fields from harmful stereotypes about their ability in those areas. Individuals’ choice to pursue one academic or professional path over another may feel like a free choice, but it is often constrained by subtle cues in achievement environments that signal who naturally belong there and who don’t. What factors release these constraints and enhance individuals’ freedom to pursue academic and professional paths despite stereotypes to the contrary? Dasgupta will present a series of studies addressing this question in the context of young women’s confidence, persistence, and career aspirations in science, mathematics, and engineering in the face of negative societal stereotypes casting doubt on their ability. Data shows that the presence of a few female experts or a critical mass of female peers in high achievement STEM settings function as social vaccines that increase female students’ social belonging in STEM and inoculate their self-concept against stereotypes. Based on the data, Professor Dasgupta will describe a set of research-driven remedies and interventions that promise to enhance the recruitment and retention of diverse groups in STEM classes, majors, and professions.
When: Tuesday April 19th at 4:30pm
Where: Hasbrouck Hall, Room 113
“Promoting Diversity in Academia: The Importance of Mentoring in STEM”
Professor LaShanda Korley who will be on campus to give a technical and diversity talk next week. We’re advertising the Diversity talk for you. We encourage you to look at her webpage for more information: http://engineering.case.edu/groups/korley/node/30. This talk is co-run with the Graduate Students for Diversity in Science and Engineering.
When: Friday April 22nd at 10:30 am
Where: Life Science Labs N610
