Before the Leaky Pipeline: Gender in Elementary Science Textbook Illustrations April Biasiolli Anthropology Graduate Student Colorado State University This work has been supported by the National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center for Multi-Scale Modeling of Atmospheric Processes, managed by Colorado State University under cooperative agreement No. ATM OSP No

Gender Disparity in Science  As early as age 11, girls are less interested in science  In high school & college, women take fewer science courses  Women earn 50% of bachelor’s degrees, 44% of master’s, and 38% of doctorates in the sciences (inc. social sciences)

The Leaky Pipeline

Social Influences  Environmental factors play a large role  Japanese girls outscore American boys on many math and science measures  Navajos equally likely to draw male and female scientists

Science as “Masculine”  Draw-a-Scientist Test:  Most Americans draw male scientists  Consistent across ages  Varies cross-culturally Fig: 5 th grader’s drawing of a scientist

Ideas about gender affect science interest, participation, & achievement  Self-efficacy  Stereotype threat

Rationale  Disparity in science begins early  Science materials impact students’ perceptions of science  Visual imagery has strong impact

Methods  18+ counties in Colorado  Every state in the USA  China, Singapore, Egypt, and the Middle East  16% of districts in USA  50 of 100 largest districts in USA FOSS Kit

Sample  16 booklets  206 pictures included people  600 people with gender coded  501 people with race / ethnicity coded

Results  Consistent across most activities and settings  Males overrepresented in laboratories and natural settings Fig. #1. Overall Gender Ratio Female (34%) Male (66%)

Results Fig #2. Gender Ratio in Biography Illustrations Female (12%) Male (88%)

Results Figure #3. Gender Ratio by Book Topic

Results Fig. 4: Percentage of People of Race / Ethnicity

Significance  Some improvement from past  Children more interested in stories & TV with same-sex main characters  Children identify more with characters similar to themselves

Significance  Biased science materials may make women & people of color less likely to choose science professions  Sciences socially & economically significant

Acknowledgements  National Science Foundation This work has been supported by the National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center for Multi-Scale Modeling of Atmospheric Processes, managed by Colorado State University under cooperative agreement No. ATM OSP No  Silvia S. Canetto, PhD  S. Aki Hosoi, MS  Erin Winterrowd, MS  Sadie Conrad, BS

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