Female Acceptability in STEM Higher Education in Pakistan: The Role of Gender Expression, Gender Sensitivity, and Supportiveness

Abstract

This study aims to examine the acceptability of females in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in higher education in Pakistan, with a specific focus on the roles of gender expression, gender sensitivity, and a supportive environment. It has been found that females have been less likely to participate in STEM education in the past as compared to males. The situation has been changing gradually, and females have been found entering STEM in several countries, and Pakistan is no exception. A quantitative study has been conducted using a cross-sectional survey as a technique of data collection. A sample size of 417 female students has been sampled from the sciences discipline through the proportionate random sampling technique, and 409 female students have participated in the study. A structured questionnaire has been used as a level of measurement, and pre-testing has been done on 25 randomly selected female students to check the reliability, i.e., .714 and above, as mentioned in Table 1. An attitudinal scale has been developed to measure the response of female students. This study has been based on the primary data collected from the female students enrolled in the Faculty of Science at a public sector university. The study findings assert that gender expression, gender sensitivity, supportiveness, and cooperativeness have a positive effect on female acceptability of STEM. However, the results also reveal that personal acceptability, parental acceptability, and peer-based acceptability have a favorable effect on the female acceptability of STEM.