Investigation on gender and area of study stereotypes among Irish third level students

Gender stereotypes are identified as a significant contributor to persistent inequality and in an educational arena, it has far reaching effects. As third level students select their area of study, their stereotypes can influence the degree of integration or exclusion in a particular area of study. Over the years, this has resulted to multiple research studies in the investigation of gender stereotypes with particular emphasis in the relationship between gender stereotypes and selected areas of study (Sciences and Liberal Arts) among men and women. In this study the implicit stereotypes of participants were targeted as they are indicative of their delicate mental associations. A quantitative survey was conducted to investigate the extent of gender-area of study stereotypes among Irish third level students. Results indicated that participants felt that, even though both genders devote time to their work equally, it is men that spend more time away from their families, are frequent achievers of high levels on performance and show more natural interest in Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths. Especially among female participants, males scored higher as high achievers in Mathematics and were declared to have more ‘natural’ interest in Science. Comparison between this study and another international big scale study was deemed reliable and comparable.