Women in stem : a qualitative study on women's experiences

Abstract

This research aims to highlight the subjective experiences which females are exposed to every day in their studying in the STEM field. Women have been found to be majorly underrepresented in the STEM field, both amongst students as well as in the work force (Blickenstaff, 2014). This has created a gender gap where males are in the majority. While statistical data on the number and success rate of females in STEM, as well as qualitative research on the area, exist in a European setting, not much qualitative data regarding the Maltese context is available. Therefore, this research took a qualitative approach to address this. This research is mainly concerned with how to relate its aims with some aspect of social life. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 5 participants, separately. The interviews were transcribed verbatim. The qualitative methodology that was used in this research study is Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, and the transcripts were analysed using this methodology. This study explored the experiences of female STEM students, a minority in this field, during their academic journey at the University of Malta. The participants highlighted the different challenges they face as students, as well as what encourages them to continue pursuing their studies.