Learning to "stick to your guns": Exploring gender perceptions among Chinese graduate students in STEM fields

Women’s access to science education is receiving a growing amount of attention from the international community (Wotipka & Ramirez, 2003; Mok, 2005; Blickenstaff, 2005; Kabeer, 2005). China is increasing women’s access to higher education by encouraging women to pursue graduate degrees in the sciences. Although more women are completing graduate degrees, most women are not entering the sciences (Liu & Li, 2010). The following study examines gender-specific challenges that Chinese women face while pursuing graduate degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields through an exploration of how participants perceive the role of Chinese culture in their relationships with peers and mentors.

Using a combination of psychological, sociological, and historical frameworks to contextualize gender inequality, I analyzed 8 interviews and 35 survey responses from graduate students pursuing STEM degrees in China. The experiences of my participants reveal culturally determined behavioral barriers that may limit a woman’s ability to challenge authority in higher education settings. Exploring the experiences of female scientists in a different cultural context might help us better understand how to create more inclusive scientific communities by revealing any culturally constructed barriers that discourage or exclude. By acknowledging certain barriers to access, we can then address how to eliminate these barriers.