Volume 4,Issue 3
Factors Influencing Women’s Underrepresentation in China’s STEM Higher Education and Corresponding Intervention Strategies
This study investigates women’s underrepresentation in STEM subjects in Chinese higher education, focusing on contributing factors and improvement strategies. Adopting an interpretivist paradigm, it uses qualitative secondary data analysis via extended literature review (ELR) and thematic analysis (TA) to examine 13 peer-reviewed articles (2015–2025) across education, sociology, and gender studies. Three interrelated factors are identified: cultural/gender stereotypes, structural barriers, and psychological/ academic self-perception, which interact to create cumulative disadvantages. Corresponding teaching-level strategies include informal STEM activities, STEM-arts integration, and cooperative learning including gender pairing. Future research should incorporate Chinese-language journals, focus on specific educational stages, and explore the long-term effectiveness of systemic interventions.
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