One of the causes of the lack of women in science is the sexual harassment and violence they face in these environments

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES:

• Leaper, C., & Starr, C. R. (2019). Helping and hindering undergraduate women’s STEM motivation: Experiences with STEM encouragement, STEM-related gender bias, and sexual harassment. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 43(2), 165-183. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684318806302 
• Aycock, L. M., Hazari, Z., Brewe, E., Clancy, K. B., Hodapp, T., & Goertzen, R. M. (2019). Sexual harassment reported by undergraduate female physicists. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 15(1), 010121. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.15.010121 
• Settles, I. H., Cortina, L. M., Malley, J., & Stewart, A. J. (2006). The climate for women in academic science: The good, the bad, and the changeable. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30(1), 47-58. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2006.00261.x 

IMAGE:

COMMENT:

Many women throughout history have felt pushed out of scientific environments. The lack of female presence in scientific fields such as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is often discussed. However, what is less talked about is the causes of the lack of women in these fields. It is a common assertion that these sciences, like many others where there is a noticeable lack of women, are masculinised. On the contrary, what many scientific evidence points to as one of the causes affecting the lower presence of women is that they often suffer violence and harassment in these environments. Preventing cases of harassment and violence and protecting victims when they do occur will be one of the main issues that will lead to more women occupying these places and more girls dreaming of becoming scientists.­­

OTHER SOURCES: