Gender gap in the STEM sector in pre and university studies of Europe associated with ethnic factors

Abstract

The ground-breaking current project builds on the latent gender gap in the education sector in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The objective of the paper is to present the thesis Project, which addresses the study of the causality of this gap, associating the possible relationship with gender roles and stereotypes assumed, together with cultural factors, such as the origin of the person. This paper describes the research project to study this situation and establish new fieldwork, using a mixed methodology, taking into account the specific variables and dimensions. In this fieldwork, we want young people between the ages of 16 and 30 to tell their story. From the evaluation of the current situation through the sequential mixed exploratory research method and from the longitudinal cohort to be carried out with the target population, palliative measures can be derived to reduce the gender gap. The project will be carried out in three phases: preparation, research, and evaluation, each of which will be carried out using different techniques and instruments. The data collected will help to identify the relationship between the gender gap and ethnic and racial factors. Finally, it can be concluded that in order to generate and achieve equal representation, one must first know the motivation and interests of people, which lead to different decisions being made and being able to work on them.