Abstract:

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is a gender-segregated field where men have dominated for decades. Despite the progress of females in STEM in recent years, Kazakhstani women still face employment and career advancement barriers. The women's underrepresentation in STEM in a Central Asian (CA) republic is, in many respects, engendered by gender inequality stemming from gender stereotypes (GS).

Notwithstanding the growing interest in gender and STEM students in CA, the existing studies are mainly grounded on exploratory methodology and secondary data analysis. Another research gap relates to a scarce knowledge of internal barriers – STEM students' GS and perception of gender equality - since existing studies accentuated the external barriers such as decision-makers' gender bias, public support programs, and gender equality at the macro level.

This research aims to fill the mentioned gaps and identify STEM students' awareness of gender equality challenges and gender bias in the profession. The methodology is rooted in Role congruity theory (Eagly and Karau, 2002), the Vicious cycle linking stereotypes and social roles (Eagly and Koeng, 2021) concept, and the mixed research method embracing the survey (N=1085) and focus groups. We used the SurveyMonkey software to collect respondents' answers and the Social Science Statistical Package to design the linear multifactor regression model.

The study's results indicated the influence of gender, rural/urban status and language of instruction on STEM students's GS. The research revealed that students' perception of gender equality directly depended on their gender stereotypes: the higher students' GS, the less likely they were to recognize signs of gender inequality. Women students had substantial confidence in their inclination to STEM and were more aware of gender inequality and challenges in the STEM profession than men.

Theoretical implications are associated with extending scientific knowledge on how the Western theory of the Vicious cycle manifests in CA. As for practical implications, faculty, businesspeople, and politicians will benefit from the proposed recommendations for promoting gender equality in their environments in Central Asia.

References

Eagly, A. & Karau, S. (2002). Role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders. Psychological Review, 109(3), 573-

598. https://doi: 10.1037/0033-295x.109.3.573

Eagly, A. & Koenig, A. (2021). The Vicious Cycle Linking Stereotypes and Social Roles. Current Directions in Psychological

Science, 30(4), 343-350. https://doi: 10.1177/09637214211013775