Challenges and Opportunities for Women Studying STEM.

Gender stereotypes in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education and careers are widely present, especially in countries with emerging economies. Making the youth interested in STEM education and careers is an important goal set by the European Commission. Consequently, understanding the obstacles youth face when choosing to study STEM is critical for policy interventions in closing the gender gap in STEM education and careers. To this end, in this paper we report on a study conducted to understand experiences of high-school and university students who study STEM. The results from two future workshops with students and a panel discussion with experts reveals three main challenges: institutional, design, and social challenges. For each challenge, we propose and discuss a respective solution: digital citizenship, universal design, and norm criticism. We conclude the paper with thoughts on the limitations of this study and directions in which this study could develop in the future.