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Challenges and Opportunities for Women Studying STEM

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ICT Innovations 2022. Reshaping the Future Towards a New Normal (ICT Innovations 2022)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 1740))

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Abstract

Gender stereotypes in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education and careers are widely present, especially in countries with emerging economies. Making the youth interested in STEM education and careers is an important goal set by the European Commission. Consequently, understanding the obstacles youth face when choosing to study STEM is critical for policy interventions in closing the gender gap in STEM education and careers. To this end, in this paper we report on a study conducted to understand experiences of high-school and university students who study STEM. The results from two future workshops with students and a panel discussion with experts reveals three main challenges: institutional, design, and social challenges. For each challenge, we propose and discuss a respective solution: digital citizenship, universal design, and norm criticism. We conclude the paper with thoughts on the limitations of this study and directions in which this study could develop in the future.

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Acknowledgement

Authors would like to thank all participants who contributed with their opinions and discussions. Additionally, a special thanks goes to the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT) for financially supporting this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden

    Mexhid Ferati, Arianit Kurti & Christina Mörtberg

  2. Rochester Institute of Technology – Kosovo, Prishtina, Kosovo

    Venera Demukaj

Authors
  1. Mexhid Ferati
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  2. Venera Demukaj
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  3. Arianit Kurti
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  4. Christina Mörtberg
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mexhid Ferati .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Saints Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, Skopje, North Macedonia

    Katerina Zdravkova

  2. Saints Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, Skopje, North Macedonia

    Lasko Basnarkov

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Ferati, M., Demukaj, V., Kurti, A., Mörtberg, C. (2022). Challenges and Opportunities for Women Studying STEM. In: Zdravkova, K., Basnarkov, L. (eds) ICT Innovations 2022. Reshaping the Future Towards a New Normal. ICT Innovations 2022. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1740. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22792-9_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22792-9_12

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-22792-9

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