Identifying factors influencing women academics in STEM careers: evidence from a Latin American country
International Journal of Educational Management
ISSN: 0951-354X
Article publication date: 28 May 2024
Issue publication date: 8 July 2024
Abstract
Purpose
This phenomenological study, conducted within the discourse on the underrepresentation of women in academia, examined the factors influencing the advancement of women academics in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Design/methodology/approach
The sample comprised twenty-one women academics from both public and private universities in Peru. Data were collected through in-depth interviews based on the women's experiences and subsequently processed using Moustakas’ (1994) stages for encoding, categorization, and analysis.
Findings
The study introduces a conceptual framework of nine factors – personal tastes and preferences, attitudes towards science as a vocation, care work, work–life balance, congruent gender roles, occupational segregation, lack of opportunities, low salaries, and lack of gender equality policies – that impact the career progression of women in STEM fields.
Originality/value
The results offer valuable insights for policymakers and academic authorities to address the barriers affecting women academics in STEM. The uniqueness of this paper lies in its investigation in Peru, a country with the highest female labor force participation in Latin America, where women constitute the majority of undergraduate program graduates.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the anonymous referees of the journal for their extremely useful suggestions to improve the quality of the paper. Usual disclaimers apply.
Funding: This work was supported by CONCYTEC/FONDECYT - Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico, Tecnológico y de Innovación Tecnológica.
Citation
Avolio, B. and Chávez Cajo, J.M. (2024), "Identifying factors influencing women academics in STEM careers: evidence from a Latin American country", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 38 No. 5, pp. 1357-1374. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-02-2023-0082
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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