If you ask yourself this question have a look at our specialist talk by Prof. Dr. Melanie Steffens who is professor for Social and Work Psychology at the University of Koblenz-Landau.
In her talk “How do gender stereotypes affect women’s STEM careers?” she will analyze why an excellent education does not lead directly to an excellent career for many women. While many women receive an equally good education as men, such equality is nowhere in sight when it comes to women’s and men’s career success: men still earn significantly more than women, they are more likely to be promoted, and women are underrepresented in many traditionally-male fields such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
The talk offers a state of the art review of applied social-psychological research on “gender at work”, shedding light on all the different ways that work-related perceptions, attributions, and outcomes differ for women and men. Focusing on domains (e.g., engineering) and positions (e.g., leadership) that are marked by women’s under-representation, the talk looks at "gender at work" in terms of own and others’ stereotypes, attitudes, and social roles including parenthood.
Whereas gender stereotypes appear to be a thing of the past to some people, research shows that they actually affect people in many ways, both in choosing their own actions and in evaluating and interpreting others behavior. Studies will be introduced that demonstrate how in particular implicit stereotypes affect spontaneous, automatic, and habitual behavior.
In the end, it is discussed what individual women can do to avoid the hurdles that stereotypes and social roles put in their way towards successful careers.
Don't miss to get an introduction to this important and fascinating topic!
