Exploring Issues of Gender Equity in Girls' Out-of-School Time STEM Engagement

Inequitable STEM participation among minoritized girls is a current and critical problem. Prior research has highlighted the importance of the middle-school age years as an important time for youth for interest identity development in science and math. Middle-school is often the stage at which youth begin their journey towards STEM careers. However, girls' STEM participation can be thwarted by gender discrimination, lack of external support, and socio-economic factors. Out-of-school-time (OST) activities are often designed to overcome these barriers. While the research on the barriers and challenges to participation are clear, less is known about how program designers and researchers can act on these insights to design individual programs as well as the overall ecosystem. This paper highlights key findings from current research on barriers to broadening participation in STEM among minorized girls and explores key insights from research for engaging program designers and researchers in designing OST experiences that are affirming and inclusive for minoritized girls.