New Directions for Research on the Role of Parents and Teachers in the Development of Gender-Related Math Attitudes: Response to Commentaries

Twenty years of gender equality research: A scoping review based on a new semantic indicator

Gender equality is a major problem that places women at a disadvantage thereby stymieing economic growth and societal advancement. In the last two decades, extensive research has been conducted on gender related issues, studying both their antecedents and consequences. However, existing literature reviews fail to provide a comprehensive and clear picture of what has been studied so far, which could guide scholars in their future research. Our paper offers a scoping review of a large portion of the research that has been published over the last 22 years, on gender equality and related issues, with a specific focus on business and economics studies. Combining innovative methods drawn from both network analysis and text mining, we provide a synthesis of 15,465 scientific articles. We identify 27 main research topics, we measure their relevance from a semantic point of view and the relationships among them, highlighting the importance of each topic in the overall gender discourse. We find that prominent research topics mostly relate to women in the workforce-e.g., concerning compensation, role, education, decision-making and career progression. However, some of them are losing momentum, and some other research trends-for example related to female entrepreneurship, leadership and participation in the board of directors-are on the rise. Besides introducing a novel methodology to review broad literature streams, our paper offers a map of the main gender-research trends and presents the most popular and the emerging themes, as well as their intersections, outlining important avenues for future research.

Math anxiety affects females' vocational interests

Vocational interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields in middle school can predict life outcomes, including enrollment in STEM courses and pursuing STEM careers. Numerical performance, as well as emotional factors such as math anxiety (MA), may influence vocational interests. The constructs of both vocational interests and MA are sensitive to gender differences. Accordingly, this study explored whether the relations among MA, numerical performance, and math vocational interests among middle-school students vary by gender. A sample of 127 ninth-grade students (68 females) performed a computation task and completed MA and trait anxiety (TA) questionnaires. A math vocational interest questionnaire was composed and assessed with an additional sample of 89 ninth-grade students. For females, MA, but not TA or numerical performance, predicted math vocational interest. Those with low MA levels tended to be interested in careers with higher math proficiency such as STEM careers. For males, high numerical performance and low TA, but not MA, related to interest in careers with high math proficiency. Bayes factors indicated that the data strongly supported the theory. The findings support the assumption that high MA levels affect the career plans of female students, whereas low numerical performance can account for both MA levels and future career plans of male students. It is essential to investigate how career aspirations are shaped in young students to promote the choice of STEM careers, especially among underrepresented populations such as females.

Pipped at the Post: Knowledge Gaps and Expected Low Parental IT Competence Ratings Affect Young Women's Awakening Interest in Professional Careers in Information Science

Although many jobs in today's information science allow favorable work-life-schedules for women, they still hesitate to enter this territory. In a study based on individual interviews with N = 134 students aged 14-18 years, who visited the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany, we collected data on the students' socialization in information and communication technology (ICT), on their self-rated ICT competence, their working knowledge of ICT professions, and their reaction to sexist statements. To analyze more in depth, we provided the participants with two alternative forms of vocational counseling interventions designed to modify their ICT-related attitudes (information vs. robotics condition). Analyses of variance and multiple linear regressions were administered to the data. Results: The girls in this study were socialized more than one year after the boys in using computers. While the boys received their ICT training mostly through their fathers and peers, the girls frequently had to rely on their teachers for ICT instruction. The girls rate their ICT competence lower than the boys; nevertheless, both genders share a relatively high interest in ICT professions. What's more, the girls are less convinced that men have a natural talent for computer science. Openness toward taking up jobs in the ICT industry in the case of the boys is less determined by their self-rated computer competence and the perceived ICT talent assessment by their parents. In both intervention conditions, they eagerly received and processed the new information provided. The girls' interest in an ICT career largely depends on preconditions, namely on their self-rated ICT competence, on a long-standing enthusiasm for computers, and on what they perceive their parents think about their ICT talents. Unlike the more pragmatic approach of the boys, their self-doubts, especially among the academic high school girls brings about that they are still in danger to leave the field of information/computer science before having entered it. In general, the participants' responses point to a comprehensive misdirection of young women in German middle schools and academic high schools. Fortunately, this study provides a lot of evidence on how to fix this major mishap in the interest of both sexes.

A Framework for Studying the Heterogeneity of Risk Factors in Math Anxiety

Math anxiety is a prevalent disorder which affects many people worldwide. Here, we draw together ample evidence to suggest a dynamic developmental bio-psycho-social model. The model highlights the complex pathways towards the development of math anxiety, with a focus on dynamism. That is, math anxiety is viewed here as a dynamic interplay between environmental (parenting style, as well as social style including teachers' attitude, instruction strategies and wider social effects) and intrinsic factors (i.e., neuro-cognitive and genetic predispositions, including brain malfunctions, heritability, predisposition towards general anxiety) and basic numerical cognition and affective factors. The model predicts that the dynamic interplay between these factors can either prevent or promote math anxiety's effects on the development of heterogeneous symptoms. Considering the universal nature of math anxiety, a systematic description of the vulnerability factors that contribute to the development of math anxiety is vital. Such information may be of particular value in informing the design of preventive interventions as well as of specific intervention tools.