Women in STEM Education and Employment: Insights from University Students in Morocco

Jihane  Benmassoud; Aicha Bouchara

doi:10.31849/utamax.v5i1.12116

Jihane Benmassoud Cadi Ayyad University, Essaouira, Morocco
Aicha Bouchara Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tetouan-Tangier, Morocco

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31849/utamax.v5i1.12116

Keywords: Women in STEM, Gender stereotypes, Attitudes, Experiences, Awareness, Students’ Perception

Abstract

Worldwide, women represent 35% of all students enrolled in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. In Morocco, 42.2% of women are engineering graduates. This study aims to investigate university students’ attitudes, experiences, and awareness about men and women in STEM education and employment. An online questionnaire was adopted to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. Using convenient sampling, 181 STEM university students participated in this study from four different institutions in Morocco which are: Faculty of Sciences and Techniques in Tangiers, The School of Technology in Essaouira, Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Sciences in Rabat, and the Higher School of Technical Education in Mohammadia. The findings show that the majority of students (83.2%) do not perceive the STEM fields as typically masculine. A minority (6.7%) believes that some professors behave differently with male and female students. Moreover, most respondents (55.6%) were not aware of the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields and were unable to recognize the importance of their contributions to fixing society’s challenges. This study, therefore, is relevant for decision makers in higher educational institutions to reconsider the methods and contents of STEM education in order to enhance a gender responsive pedagogy

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Author Biographies

Jihane Benmassoud , Cadi Ayyad University, Essaouira, Morocco

Dr. Jihane Benmassoud is a renowned researcher and professor at the School of Technology in Essaouira, which is a part of the prestigious Cadi Ayyad University located in Marrakech, Morocco. She holds a doctorate in Applied Linguistics, which she earned from Ibn Toufail University, Morocco. Her research interests and contributions span a range of fields, including applied linguistics, gender, and media. Dr. Benmassoud has been involved in numerous research projects throughout her career, and her work has been published in various academic journals and books. She is also an associate member of a multidisciplinary research team on women at the University of Moulay Ismail, Meknes, Morocco, where she collaborates with other experts to explore the intersections of gender, culture, and society.

As an expert in her field, Dr. Benmassoud has delivered keynote speeches at several international conferences and has participated in various academic events worldwide. She is a respected authority on gender and media and is often sought after by media outlets and organizations for her insights and expertise. Aside from her academic achievements, Dr. Benmassoud is also known for her dedication to promoting gender equality and empowering women in academia and beyond. She has been involved in various initiatives and projects aimed at advancing women's rights, particularly in the context of Morocco, where gender equality remains a pressing issue. Her work on gender and media, in particular, has shed light on important issues and has helped to promote greater understanding and awareness of these topics in Morocco and beyond.

Aicha Bouchara, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tetouan-Tangier, Morocco

Dr. Aicha Bouchara is a professor at Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Morocco. She holds a PhD in Gender and Media from Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez, Morocco. She was an associate member of the multidisciplinary research group on women called Tanit at Moulay Ismail University in Meknes from 2009 to 2018. Currently, she is a co-researcher at the “Observatoire Francophone pour le développement inclusif par le genre” (OFDIG) at the University of Quebec in Montreal in Canada. Her research interests focus on multiple themes related to gender such as gender-based violence, women in tertiary education, gender representation in textbooks, gender in social networks and cinema, and women in STEM-related fields.

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