06/07/2026
Research on students’ self-efficacy in math and science shows a startling reality: girls and boys begin developing gender stereotypes and beliefs about who “belongs” in STEM at an early age. These early messages can shape confidence, interest, and whether students continue to see themselves as scientists, engineers, mathematicians, or innovators. Although women now earn the majority of bachelor’s degrees overall, they remain underrepresented in engineering. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2021–22 women earned 59% of all bachelor’s degrees, yet men earned 75% of bachelor’s degrees in engineering, meaning women earned only about one-quarter of engineering degrees.
These statistics show that the biggest threat to gender diversity in STEM is not a lack of ability or potential, but the ways girls are pushed out, discouraged, or led to self-select out of STEM pathways because they do not have enough early, engaging, and affirming experiences. To address this and engage more girls in STEM, we must provide formal and informal STEM learning experiences as early as kindergarten and continue that exposure through elementary, middle, and high school. When girls have access to high-quality, relevant STEM experiences early, they build confidence, develop STEM identity, and begin to see themselves as scientists, engineers, problem-solvers, and leaders. This is especially important for girls from communities that have been historically underrepresented in STEM and may not always see STEM careers or college pathways as accessible to them.
