This open access book addresses challenges related to women in STEM in higher education, presenting research, experiences, studies, and good practices associated with the engagement, access, and retention of women in the STEM disciplines. It also discusses strategies implemented by universities and policymakers to reduce the existing gender gap in these areas. The chapters provide an overview of implementations in different regions of the world and provide numerous examples that can be transferred to other higher education institutions.

This timely volume brings together a range of international scholars to analyse cultural, political, and individual factors which contribute to the continued global issue of female underrepresentation in STEM study and careers. Offering a comparative approach to examining gender equity in STEM fields across countries including the UK, Germany, the United States, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Africa, and China, the volume provides a thematic breakdown of institutional trends and national policies that have successfully improved gender equity in STEM at institutions of higher education. Offering case studies that demonstrate how policies interact with changing social and cultural norms, and impact women’s choices and experiences in relation to the uptake and continuation of STEM study at the undergraduate level, the volume highlights new directions for research and policy to promote gender equity in STEM at school, university, and career levels. Contributing to the United Nations’ (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, this text will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with an interest in science education, higher education, and gender equity in STEM fields. The text will also support further discussion and reflection around multicultural education, educational policy and politics, and the sociology of education more broadly.

In Belonging and Identity in STEM Higher Education, leading scholars, teachers, practitioners and students explore belonging and identity in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, and how this is impacted by disciplinary changes and the post-pandemic higher education context. In STEM fields, positivist approaches and a focus on numerical data can lead to assumptions that they are unemotional, impersonal disciplines. The need for mathematical competency, logical thinking and disciplinary contexts can be barriers to engagement, belonging and success in STEM. STEM ways of thinking, such as those underpinning abstract and complex mathematics, can form the basis for new ways of conceptualising belonging for both staff and students, going beyond socio-demographic and cultural differences. In this book, chapters and case study contributions analyse what is unique about STEM educational environments for staff and students in the UK, Ireland, Europe, Scandinavia and Asia. The authors examine the role of STEM pedagogies in facilitating belonging, variable impacts across student characteristics and the experiences STEM students face in their higher education experiences. It provides a valuable resource for those working in equity diversity and inclusion (EDI), STEM educational researchers and practitioners, as well as offering insights for academics and teachers in STEM higher education.

We are delighted to present the inaugural 'Women in Education” series of article collections. At present, less than 30% of researchers worldwide are women. Long-standing biases and gender stereotypes are discouraging girls and women away from science-related fields and from pursuing a career in academia and in different professional environments, especially when linked to STEM fields. Science and gender equality are, however, essential to ensure sustainable development in all disciplines. In order to change traditional mindsets, gender equality must be promoted, stereotypes defeated, and girls and women should be encouraged to pursue academic careers. Therefore, Frontiers in Education is proud to offer this platform to promote the work of women scientists, educators and professionals, across all fields of STEM Education. Female representation still needs to be improved in key roles in the field, and the way in which an equitable education contributes to fairer and less biased academic and professional environments worldwide should be more investigated. The work presented here highlights the diversity of research performed across the entire breadth of STEM Education research and presents advances in theory, experiment, and methodology with applications to compelling problems.

This edited book provides international insights and recommendations around topics of gender and diversity in higher education linking to larger societal goals of improving equality. Within each of the four sections – Student recruitment and retention, Student experience, Faculty and staff experiences and culture, and Higher education cultures of teaching and research – topics unpack and speak to gender and diversity, equity, inclusion and access, social justice, and leadership and sustainability in higher education institutions (HEIs). Incorporating innovative processes and methods, the researchers address how the experiences of groups who have been subordinated and marginalized can be heard, proposing a re-imagination of empowerment and leadership within higher education and best practices for the benefit of ongoing higher education development. This book is ideal reading for higher education leaders, students on higher education courses, leadership courses, gender in education, as well as researchers, practitioners, for topics of gender and diversity, equity, inclusion and access, social justice, leadership and sustainability in HEIs.

Using case studies from universities throughout the nation, Doing Diversity in Higher Education examines the role faculty play in improving diversity on their campuses. The power of professors to enhance diversity has long been underestimated, their initiatives often hidden from view. Winnifred Brown-Glaude and her contributors uncover major themes and offer faculty and administrators a blueprint for conquering issues facing campuses across the country. Topics include how to dismantle hostile microclimates, sustain and enhance accomplishments, deal with incomplete institutionalization, and collaborate with administrators. The contributors' essays portray working on behalf of diversity as a genuine intellectual project rather than a faculty "service." The rich variety of colleges and universities included provides a wide array of models that faculty can draw upon to inspire institutional change.

This book chronicles the introspective and contemplative strategies employed within a uniquely-designed professional development intervention that successfully increased the self-efficacy of STEM faculty in implementing culturally relevant pedagogies in the computer/information sciences.

Published annually since 1985, the Handbook series provides a compendium of thorough and integrative literature reviews on a diverse array of topics of interest to the higher education scholarly and policy communities. Each chapter provides a comprehensive review of research findings on a selected topic, critiques the research literature in terms of its conceptual and methodological rigor and sets forth an agenda for future research intended to advance knowledge on the chosen topic. The Handbook focuses on a comprehensive set of central areas of study in higher education that encompasses the salient dimensions of scholarly and policy inquiries undertaken in the international higher education community. Each annual volume contains chapters on such diverse topics as research on college students and faculty, organization and administration, curriculum and instruction, policy, diversity issues, economics and finance, history and philosophy, community colleges, advances in research methodology and more. The series is fortunate to have attracted annual contributions from distinguished scholars throughout the world.

Research on higher education has yielded many insights that have improved our theoretical and practical understanding but there are still many themes that continue to appear on research agendas, provoking renewed focus on these complex questions and problems. Researching Higher Education explores these issues, examining topics such as equity in access and participation, the relationship between higher education and society, how and what students learn and the professional development of academics. In this volume, contributors from Europe, Australia, Africa and the US critically address ongoing issues with a set of key questions to guide their analysis: What do we know? What are the missing links and gaps in past research? What are the implications for further research? Key themes include: The nature of higher education Higher education and society Staff and students in higher education Teaching and learning Curriculum and assessment Critical, engaging and international in scope, Researching Higher Education will be a valuable guide for academics, researchers, postgraduate students and policy makers in the higher education community.