printWomen’s Coping Practices in the Situation of Gender Stigma in Higher IT-education
Savinskaya O.B.
Cand. Sci. (Sociol.), Leading Research Fellow of the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research, Associate Prof. at the Department of Sociology, HSE University, Moscow, Russia. osavinskaya@hse.ru
Mkhitaryan T.A.
Research Assistant of the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research, HSE University, Moscow, Russia. mkhitaryan.tamara@gmail.com
Savinskaya O.B., Mkhitaryan T.A. Women’s Coping Practices in the Situation of Gender Stigma in Higher IT-education. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2025. No 4. P. 82-93
The existence of stereotypes at universities that STEM majors are not for women creates an uncomfortable atmosphere and a feeling of outsiders for them. The study examines how women cope with an undesirable sexist environment finding ways to maintain personal status in the professional community. The article provides an overview of theoretical approaches and empirical studies of underrepresentation in STEM specialties and the existence of stereotypes that lead to situations of gender stigmatization of girls in the environment of IT departments. Based on 23 semi‑formalized interviews with female students studying at a Computer Science major of one of highly rated Moscow universities, the situation of stigmatization of female students in the educational process is studied. The result of the study is the systematization of practices for coping with gender stigmatization in the educational environment and the construction of a continuum of these practices from eight types of justifying gender stigma for girls to resistance to it and the collective construction of a mechanism for equalizing the positions of girls and boys.
Acker J. (1990) Hierarchies, jobs, bodies: A theory of gendered organizations. Gender & Society. Vol. 4. No. 2: 139–158.
Antoshchuk I. A. (2021) Moving through the STEM Pipeline: A Systematic Literature Review of the Gender Inequality in Russian Engineering. Monitoring obshchestvennogo mneniya: ekonomicheskie i social’nye peremeny [Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes]. No. 3: 57–87. DOI: 10.14515/monitoring.2021.3.1912. (In Russ.)
Baskakova M. E. (2023) State regulation of women’s employment and professional segregation in the Russian labor sphere – 100 years of history (Part 1. 1918–1945). Voprosy teoreticheskoy ekonomiki [Questions of theoretical economics]. Vol. 20. No. 3: 127–146. DOI: 10.52342/2587‑7666VTE_2023_3_127_146. (In Russ.)
Bird S. R. (2010) Unsettling universities’ incongruous, gendered bureaucratic structures: A case‑study approach. Gender, Work and Organization. Vol. 18. No. 2: 202–230.
Blickenstaff C. J. (2005) Women and science careers: leaky pipeline or gender filter? Gender and Education. Vol. 17. No. 4: 369–386.
Britton D. M. (2000) The epistemology of the gendered organization. Gender & Society. Vol 14. No. 3: 418–434. DOI: 10.1177/089124300014003004 (accessed 01.09.24).
Burke R. J., Mattis M. C. (2007) Women and minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics: Upping the numbers. Cheltenham, England: Edward Elgar.
Ceci S. J., Williams W. M., Barnett S. M. (2009) Women’s Underrepresentation in Science: Sociocultural and Biological Considerations. Psychological Bulletin. Vol. 135. No. 2: 218–261.
Ceci S. J., Ginther D. K., Kahn S., Williams W. M. (2014) Women in Academic Science: A Changing Landscape. Psychological Science in the Public Interest. Vol. 15. No. 3: 75–141. DOI: 10.1177/1529100614541236.
Correll S. J. (2001) Gender and the Career Choice Process: The Role of Biased Self‑ Assessments. American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 106. No. 6: 1691–1730.
Data about the organization carrying out educational activities under higher education educational programs – bachelor’s degree programs, specialist degree programs, master’s degree programs for 2023. Ministry of science and higher education. URL: https://minobrnauki.gov.ru/action/stat/highed/ (accessed 16.10.24).
Folkman S., Lazarus R., Dunkel‑ Schetter C., DeLongis A., Gruen R. (1986) Dynamics of a Stressful Encounter: Cognitive Appraisal, Coping, and Encounter Outcomes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol. 50. No. 5: 992–1003.
Forman‑ Rabinovici A, Mandel H. (2023) The Prevalence and Implications of Gender Blindness in Quantitative Political Science Research. Politics & Gender. Vol.19. No. 2: 482–506.
Gabay‑ Egozi L., Shavit Y., Yaish M. (2015) Gender differences in fields of study: The role of significant others and rational choice motivations. European Sociological Review. Vol. 31. No. 3: 284–297.
Goffman E. (1963) Stigma. London: Penguin.
Grigorieva N. S., Chubarova T. V. (2018) To leave impossible to stay: life strategies of women who left STEMprofessions. Zhenshchina v rossiyskom obshchestve [Woman in Russian society]. No. 4: 71–84. DOI: 10.21064/WinRS.2018.4.7. (In Russ.)
Gilligan C., Snider N. (2018) Why does patriarchy persist? Cambridge: Polity Press.
Hakim C. (2000) Work- Lifestyle Choices in the 21st Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hobfoll S., Dunahoo C., Ben‑ Porath Y., Monnier J. (1994) Gender and coping: the dual‑axis model of coping. American Journal of Community Psychology. Vol. 22. No. 1: 49–82.
Kalabikhina I. E. (2017) New approaches to measuring women’s representation in STEM‑education and STEMemployment. Zhenshchina v rossiyskom obshchestve [Woman in Russian society]. No. 1: 5–16. DOI: 10.21064/WinRS.2017.1.1. (In Russ.)
Kanter R. M. (1977) Men and Women of the Corporation. New York: Basic Books.
Khasbulatova O. A. (2016) Gender aspects of the development of STEM education in Russia. Zhenshchina v rossiyskom obshchestve [Woman in Russian society]. Vol. 80. No. 3: 3–15. DOI: 10.21064/WinRS.2016.3.1. (In Russ.)
Lebedeva N. V. (2023) Stereotypes as a possible predictor of non‑representation of women in STEM: development and testing of the questionnaire «Stereotypical ideas about STEM». Obrazovanie i samorazvitie [Education and self‑development]. Vol. 18. No. 2: 118–132. DOI: 10.26907/esd.18.2.09. (In Russ.)
Makarova E., Aeschlimann B., Herzog W. (2019) The Gender Gap in STEM Fields: The Impact of the Gender Stereotype of Math and Science on Secondary Students’ Career Aspirations. Frontiers in Education. Vol. 4. No. 60: 1–12.
Maloshonok N. G., Shcheglova I. A., Vilkova K. A., Abramova M. O. (2022) Gender stereotypes and choice of an engineering undergraduate program. Voprosy obrazovaniya [Educational Studies Moscow]. No. 3: 149–186. DOI: 10.17323/1814‑9545‑2022‑3‑149‑186. (In Russ.)
Martin A. E., Phillips K. W. (2017) What “blindness” to gender differences helps women see and do: Implications for confidence, agency, and action in male‑dominated environments. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. Vol. 142: 28–44.
Ong M. (2005) Body Projects of Young Women of Color in Physics: Intersections of Gender, Race, and Science. Social Problems. Vol. 52. No. 4: 593–617.
Popova I. P. (2021) Gender Equality in Science and Technology as a Factor in Professional Careers. Mir Rossii [Universe of Russia]. Vol. 30. No. 2: 98–122. DOI: 10.17323/1811‑038X‑2021‑30‑2‑98‑122. (In Russ.)
Rhoton L. A. (2011) Distancing as a Gendered Barrier: Understanding Women Scientists’ Gender Practices. Gender & Society. Vol 25. No. 6: 696–716.
Rincon J. A., Ortiz J. E. (2021) Production of ignorance and the gender gap in STEM: an approach to engineering education. Sociología y Tecnociencia. Vol. 11. No. 1: 139–159.
Rudenko N., Antoshchuk I., Maliushkin R., Zemnukhova L. (2022) Gender Equality Paradise Revisited: The Dynamics of Gender Disbalance in Russian Engineering from the Late Soviet Time to the 2010s. Engineering Studies. Vol. 14. No. 1: 56–78.
Ryabova T. B. (2001) Gender stereotypes and gender stereotyping: methodological approaches. Zhenshchina v rossiyskom obshchestve [Woman in Russian society]. No. 3–4: 3–12. (In Russ.)
Savinskaya O. B., Lebedeva N. V. (2020) Why women leave STEM: the role of stereotypes. Zhenshchina v rossiyskom obshchestve [Women in Russian Society]. No. 2: 62–75. DOI: 10.21064/WinRS.2020.2.6. (In Russ.)
Savinskaya O. B., Mkhitaryan T. A. (2018) Technical disciplines (STEM) as a girl’s professional choice: achievements, self‑esteem and hidden curriculum. Zhenshchina v rossiyskom obshchestve [Woman in Russian society]. No. 3: 34–48. DOI 10.21064/WinRS.2018.3.4. (In Russ.)
Steele J. R., Reisz L., Williams A., Kawakami K. (2007) Women in mathematics: examining the hidden barriers that gender stereotypes can impose. In: Burke R. J., Mattis M.C (eds) Women and minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics: upping the numbers. Massachusetts: Edward Eglar: 159–183.
Stoet G., Geary D. C. (2018) The Gender‑ Equality Paradox in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education. Psychological Science. Vol. 29. No. 4: 581–593.
Voronina N. S. (2019) Women in STEM professions in Russia: aspects of gender inequality. Informacionno- analiticheskij byulleten’ (INAB) [Information and Analytical Bulletin (INAB)]. No. 1: 65–86. DOI: 10.19181/INAB.2022.1.3. (In Russ.)
Wilkins‑ Yel K.G., Simpson A., Sparks P. D. (2019) Persisting despite the odds: Resilience and coping among women in engineering. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering. Vol. 25. No. 4: 353–368.
Zamiatnina E. S. (2017) Gender‑ Related Differences in Speciality Choices in Russia. Monitoring obshchestvennogo mneniya: ekonomicheskie i social’nye peremeny [Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes]. No. 3: 153–176. DOI: 10.14515/monitoring.2017.3.11. (In Russ.)