Gender Disparity in It- and Stem-Professions: Analysis of Key Factors
https://doi.org/10.21686/2413-2829-2024-5-160-169
Abstract
The article focuses on the problem of professional integration of Russian women in new processes of information and technological development. The topic of gender inequality on labour market in certain shapes and forms is typical of nearly all today’s professions. The sphere of information and digital technologies is not an exception. IT- and STEM-industries present only one line in a vast scope of research dealing with women inclusion in this professional field. The author studies reasons for underestimation of labour and creative potential of women, due to which women find themselves connected with humanitarian and social occupations, while men – with occupations dealing with mathematics, engineering, high technologies and information science. It was pointed out that various professional skills, talents and creative dominance of women are not in demand. A whole set of external and internal factors were investigated that prevent women from entering professional spheres of IT and STEM, which can back up gender disparity and segregation in labour sphere. The author came to the conclusion that gender disparity not only exercises a negative impact on social and ethic relations but can cause direct economic and staff costs for the country. In its turn the extended presence of women in new digital industries and technical sectors can foster the development of economy and at the same time can help resolve numerous problems of gender inequality in labour sphere. Attaining gender balance is still an open and multi-sided topic in theoretical and practical plan on the junction of investigating labour economics and sociology of labour relations.
About the Author
M. Yu. VaravvaRussian Federation
Margarita Yu. Varavva PhD, Assistant Professor of the Department for Economics and Social and Humanitarian Disciplines
50/51–53 Leninskaya/Pushkin Str., Orenburg, 460000
References
1. Varavva M. Yu. Kadrovyy razryv: masshtaby i faktory defitsita IT-kadrov v Rossii [Staff Gap: Amounts and Factors of It-Specialists Deficit in Russia]. Vestnik Rossiyskogo ekonomicheskogo universiteta imeni G. V. Plekhanova [Vestnik of the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics], 2023, No. 4, pp. 171–180. (In Russ.).
2. Govorova N. V. Zhenshchiny v tsifrovoy ekonomike Evropeyskogo soyuza [Zhenshchina in the Digital Economy of the European Union]. Zhenshchina v rossiyskom obshchestve [Woman in Russian Society], 2021, No. 2, pp. 161–173. (In Russ.).
3. Druzhinin V. N. Psikhologiya obshchikh sposobnostey [Psychology of General Abilities]. Saint Petersburg, 2000. (In Russ.).
4. Zadvornova Yu. S. Likvidatsiya gendernogo razryva v oplate truda v STEM-otraslyakh kak klyuchevaya zadacha preodoleniya gendernogo neravenstva v stranakh s tsifrovoy ekonomikoy [Closing the Gender Pay Gap in STEM Industries as a Key Challenge in Bridging Gender Inequality in Digital Economies]. Zhenshchina v rossiyskom obshchestve [Woman in Russian Society], 2019, No. 3, pp. 114–120. (In Russ.).
5. Ilin E. P. Differentsialnaya psikhofiziologiya muzhchin i zhenshchin [Differential Psychophysiology of Men and Women]. Saint Petersburg, 2002. (In Russ.).
6. Kemmet E. V. Gendernaya asimmetriya v professionalnom soobshchestve inzhenerov [Gender Asymmetry in the Professional Engineering Community]. Vestnik Nizhegorodskogo universiteta im. N. I. Lobachevskogo. Seriya: Sotsialnye nauki [Bulletin of Nizhny Novgorod University named after N. I. Lobachevsky. Series: Social Sciences], 2017, No. 1 (45), pp. 140–145. (In Russ.).
7. Lebedeva N. V. Stereotipy kak vozmozhnyy prediktor nepredstavlennosti zhenshchin v STEM: razrabotka i aprobatsiya oprosnika «Stereotipnye predstavleniya v otnoshenii STEM» [Stereotypes as a Possible Predictor of Women's Lack of Representation in STEM: Development and Testing of the "Stereotypical Representations of STEM" Questionnaire]. Obrazovanie i samorazvitie [Education and Self-Development], 2023, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 118–132. (In Russ.).
8. Maloshonok N. G., Shcheglova I. A. Rol gendernykh stereotipov v otseve studentov inzhenerno-tekhnicheskogo profilya [The Role of Tender Stereotypes in the Dropout of Engineering Students]. Monitoring obshchestvennogo mneniya: ekonomicheskie i sotsialnye peremeny [Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes], 2020, No. 2, pp. 273–292. (In Russ.).
9. Rudakov V. Kartoteka: gendernoe neravenstvo v akademii [Kartoteka: Gender Inequality in the Academy]. (In Russ.). Available at: https://iq.hse.ru/news/19.04.2019 (accessed 27.01.2024).
10. Savinskaya O. B., Lebedeva N. V., Vilkova K. A. Gendernye stereotipy i zhenskie strategii v vysshem STEM-obrazovanii: obzor mezhdistsiplinarnogo polya [Gender Stereotypes and Women Strategies in STEM: A Multidisciplinary Review]. Zhurnal issledovaniy sotsialnoy politiki [The Journal of Social Policy Studie], 2022, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 505–520. (In Russ.).
11. Snezhko V. L., Shchedrina E. V., Paliivets M. S. Tendentsii usileniya gendernoy asimmetrii v sfere nauchnykh issledovaniy tekhnicheskikh nauk [Trends in Increasing Gender Asymmetry in the Field of Scientific Research of Technical Sciences]. Sotsialno-gumanitarnye znaniya [Social and Humanitarian Knowledge], 2022, No. 7, pp. 47–52. (In Russ.).
12. Kharchenko S. V. Osobennosti vzaimosvyazey sposobnostey obshchego i sotsialnogo intellekta u muzhchin i zhenshchin [Features of the Relationships between the Abilities of General and Social Intelligence in Men and Women]. Vestnik po pedagogike i psikhologii Yuzhnoy Sibiri [Bulletin on Pedagogy and Psychology of Southern Siberia], 2017, No. 2. (In Russ.). Available at: https://www.es.rae.ru/bulletinpp/219-1142 (accessed 15.12.2023).
13. Khotkina Z. A. Na puti k tsifrovomu gendernomu ravenstvu [On the Way to Digital Gender Equality]. Zhenshchina v rossiyskom obshchestve [Woman in Russian Society], 2018, No. 3, pp. 5–13. (In Russ.).
14. Astorne-Figari C., Speer J. D. Drop out, switch majors, or persist? The Contrasting Gender Gaps. Economics Letters, 2018, Vol. 164, pp. 82–85.
15. Goy S. C., Wong Y. L., Low W. Y., Uzoigwe A. G. Swimming Against the Tide in STEM Education and Gender Equality: a Problem of Recruitment or Retention in Malaysia. Studies in Higher Education, 2018, Vol. 43, No. 11, pp. 1793–1809.
16. Ornes S. The STEM gender gap: Can science and tech attract more women? CQ Researcher, 2018, Vol. 28, Issue 31.
17. Thompson D. The Secret to Smart Groups: It's Women. Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/01/the-secret-to-smart-groups-isnt-smartpeople/384625/
Review
For citations:
Varavva M.Yu. Gender Disparity in It- and Stem-Professions: Analysis of Key Factors. Vestnik of the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics. 2024;(5):160-169. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.21686/2413-2829-2024-5-160-169