Structural Equation Models: An Alternative to Measure the Phenomenon of STEM Women in Mexico
Abstract
Although there are more and more women in universities in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), in terms of representativeness they are still far from equaling men. Gender stereotypes and segregation of STEM careers are obstacles for female students, as they generate exclusionary practices and hostile environments. The objective of this article was to propose a model for measuring the phenomenon of STEM women that considers latent variables related to male beliefs, inspirations, coping strategies, the labor market, school and a taste for mathematics. For this, an instrument was built that measures the perception of STEM women in university students. 1826 questionnaires were applied to students from two higher education schools of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was carried out, later the structural equations model was worked and finally six hypotheses generated from the latent variables were established. It was found that coping contributes to explain the School variable, in addition to male beliefs explaining the School and Labor Market constructs. It is concluded that it is necessary for schools to work to develop respectful and challenging environments for women, coupled with the fact that the labor sector has to support to close the gaps and eliminate gender discrimination.
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