Gender-interest stereotypes create a gender gap in interest in a computer science activity: girls, but not boys, show lower interest when the stereotype is present¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r2 · q3 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2021 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i2 A 2 (stereotype presence) × 2 (gender) ANOVA on interest in a computer science activity showed a significant interaction, F(1,120) = 7.22, P = 0.008, ηp2 = 0.06. → Master 2021 q3 i2 Girls were less interested in the stereotyped than nonstereotyped activity (d = 0.69) and less interested than boys in the stereotyped activity (d = 0.57); boys' interest did not differ between activities (d = 0.002). → Master 2021 (2)

Evidence¶

Master 2021¶

Master, A., Meltzoff, A. N., & Cheryan, S. (2021). Gender stereotypes about interests start early and cause gender disparities in computer science and engineering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(48), e2100030118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2100030118

q3 · i2 · causal · r2

Preregistered experiment with 122 children aged 8–9 (49% girls), conducted over Zoom or Google Meet with two computer science activities. The omnibus stereotype × gender interaction was significant, with printed effect size ηp2 = 0.06 (F(1,120) = 7.22, P = 0.008).

"a 2 (presence of stereotype: stereotyped, nonstereotyped) × 2 (gender: girls, boys) ANOVA on interest revealed a significant interaction, F(1,120) = 7.22, P = 0.008, and ηp2 = 0.06"

Master 2021 (2)¶

Master, A., Meltzoff, A. N., & Cheryan, S. (2021). Gender stereotypes about interests start early and cause gender disparities in computer science and engineering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(48), e2100030118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2100030118

q3 · i2 · causal · r2

Simple effects within the same experiment, with printed effect sizes d = 0.69 (girls, stereotyped vs. nonstereotyped) and d = 0.002 (boys). Girls chose the stereotyped activity less often (35% vs. 65%, P = 0.03); boys chose at chance (P = 1.00); the gender difference in choice was not significant, χ2(1, n = 122) = 2.81, P = 0.09.

"girls were significantly less interested in the stereotyped than the nonstereotyped activity, P < 0.001 and d = 0.69, and there was no statistically significant difference between boys' interest in the stereotyped and the nonstereotyped activities, P = 0.99 and d = 0.002"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Children in grades 3–7 endorse gender-interest stereotypes favoring boys in computer science, with boys endorsing more strongly than girls
• Experimentally labeling a novel activity with a gender-interest stereotype causes 8-year-old girls to report lower interest and choose it less often
• Girls' lower sense of belonging mediates the relation between gender-interest stereotypes and their lower interest in computer science, with the opposite mediation for boys
• Gender-interest stereotypes favoring boys in computer science and engineering are endorsed across grades 1–12 and across racial/ethnic groups in a diverse sample
• The more girls endorse gender-interest stereotypes favoring boys, the lower their own interest in computer science and engineering, and interest stereotypes predict girls' interest more strongly than ability stereotypes — related
• Girls started with lower interest in science than boys but gained significantly more, resulting in equal post-intervention interest — related