Gender Stereotypes and Women Participation in STEM Fields in the Western Balkans: A Scoping Review

Abstract

The prevalence of gender stereotypes in STEM fields is evidenced by a large body of literature across the world, however, this area of research is still understudied in the Western Balkan region. To get a better knowledge of the extent of studies addressing this topic, we conducted a scoping review investigating existing gender stereotypes and educational choices in STEM in that region. As expected, the number of studies discovered was very limited, despite our generous inclusion criteria. In these limited studies, however, we found ample evidence of existing gender stereotypes in STEM and their impact on career aspirations. As this scoping review focused only on high-school university students, we conclude the paper with thoughts on future work ideas to expand the target group as well as to use systems thinking as an overarching perspective to conduct a holistic examination. This could be achieved by including relevant actors within and outside the immediate context, such as parents, schools, policymakers, businesses, and organizations. Finally, the paper also discusses the impact and opportunities that come with digitalization efforts, which could be leveraged to increase women participation in STEM.