A New Explanation for the STEM Gender Gap

From the Marshall Memo #433

In this Chronicle of Higher Education article, Theodore Hill and Erika Rogers note the dearth of women in mathematically intensive STEM majors and careers – engineering, physics, chemistry, operations research, computer science, and mathematics – while less mathematically intensive areas like biology and medicine have an abundance of women. Researchers have suggested a variety of explanations for the underrepresentation of women in the hard sciences: lack of early encouragement, cultural bias, the conflicts of motherhood, biological differences in mathematical ability, and an innate female affinity for people (versus the male affinity for things). 

Hill and Rogers say these might be playing a part, but they believe a more important reason is a creativity gap. It turns out that creativity is essential to success in the hard sciences, and many women seem to have less of three key elements: playfulness, curiosity, and willingness to take risks. “Studies have found that boys and men are generally more playful than girls and women,” report Hill and Rogers, “and are more curious and more willing to take risks, which could help explain why men are more creatively productive than women in general, and in particular, in the hard sciences.” Could this be why there are so few female visual artists, composers, film directors, playwrights, architects – and scientists?

Hill and Rogers don’t accept that this is inevitable, and suggest some possible remedies. Schools, colleges, and universities should encourage more spontaneity “on the job”, emulating Google, Bell Labs, and IDEO by setting up “playrooms” and allocating time specifically devoted to creativity. Another idea is setting up “innovation hothouses” that put a premium on using imagination, choosing risky, out-of-the-box solutions, and working through repeated failures.

“For Women to Think Mathematically, Colleges Should Think Creatively” by Theodore Hill and Erika Rogers in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Apr. 20, 2012 (Vol. LVIII, #33, p. A25), http://chronicle.com/article/For-Women-to-Think/131547/