One university boosted gender diversity in advanced maths by over 30% in 5 years – here’s how
But mathematics is missing an important ingredient: people
who are female or gender-diverse.
In New South Wales, for example, only one-third of high
school graduates who complete mathematics at the highest level are female or
gender-diverse. And when students choose university courses in December, a
large proportion of these highly qualified people will step away from
mathematics and STEM.
Australia cannot stay competitive by only accessing half of
its young talent. By leaving mathematics early, young women and gender-diverse
people limit their own career opportunities. Worse, the new technologies
resulting from the current revolutions may not serve broader society well, if
women and gender-diverse people are not involved in their development.
But at the University of Sydney over the past five years we
have run a successful pilot program to reverse this trend – and to empower
young women to make informed career choices. Better, the program is cheap to
run and can be easily adopted elsewhere so mathematics – and the many
industries it underpins – can be more diverse in ways that benefit everyone,
regardless of their gender.
Declining enrolments
Before 2020, female and gender-diverse enrolments in
advanced mathematics at the University of Sydney were in decline.
In 2020 the incoming cohort was nearly 80% male. Non-STEM
directions offer attractive and important career options, and some movement
between specialisations is expected. But a nosedive from 35% female students at
the end of high school to 22% at the start of university indicates a problem.
Over five years, a team I lead piloted an intervention
which has increased the ratio of female and gender-diverse students in advanced
first-year mathematics from 22% to 30% – nearly back to the high school levels.
Our program consists of two components:
information, personalised invitations, and enrolment advice
for incoming female and gender-diverse students, and a mentoring program for
female and gender-diverse students who enrol in advanced mathematics.
Targeting the problem from year one
Before the start of semester, we compare first year
enrolments with students’ high school certificates and majors. Like in high
school, mathematics at the university is offered at multiple parallel levels.
When students are enrolled at a lower level than their
background and major would justify, we send personalised emails encouraging
them to switch to the advanced level. We hold a welcome event and multiple
drop-in sessions, offering tailored advice.
In the mentoring program we match female and gender diverse
advanced maths students with groups of eight to twelve peers of mixed year
levels. Matching is based on timetables.
Each group is mentored by a senior (Honours or PhD)
student, and an academic – at least one of whom is female or gender-diverse.
Student mentors bring invaluable insight to the program, as they had walked in
the mentees’ shoes only a few years before.
Each year 50–80 students participate in the program,
roughly two-thirds of whom are first-year students.
Mentoring groups meet weekly for an hour: sometimes with
both mentors, sometimes with the student mentor alone. Meeting topics are
loosely structured around academic advice and sharing experiences.
Many groups develop their own agendas organically. The
program does not focus on tutoring, though students enjoy discussing key
mathematical techniques and concepts.
Fostering community and belonging
At the heart of the program is the opportunity to build
community with peers, away from the pressure of assessments. While student
feedback on the program is overall enthusiastic, it is a puzzle to maintain
engagement with mentoring as semesters get hectic. It is difficult for students
to prioritise community building when marks are on the line elsewhere.
We suspected the large drop in female and gender diverse
enrolments at the transition to university is at least partly explained by
these students’ lack of confidence in their mathematical abilities.
Research shows such insecurities disproportionately affect
women. General messaging is ineffective in the face of self-doubt, so we aimed
for a personalised but scalable approach.
The mentoring component fosters community and belonging.
This combats isolation, provides ongoing support and enables long-term
retention.
A low-cost solution
Our program is a low-cost solution that can be implemented
in most academic contexts.
The first year of university is a place to start, but it is
too late to fully address Australia’s pipeline problem. We can’t expect to have
women and gender-diverse students participating in STEM at university in higher
numbers than they did at the end of high school.
Similar programs could be put in place in high schools, and
personal invitations can even be used to bring more girls to elementary school
enrichment programs. This would help boost diverse and equitable participation
in STEM from the roots.
For more such insights, log
into www.international-maths-challenge.com.
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