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In trying to understand women's underrepresentation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), most existing research focuses on one STEM-field or collapses across all STEM-fields. However, these fields differ vastly in female representation: women tend to be most strongly underrepresented in technological and computer science university majors and to a lesser extent in mathematics and chemistry, while they are less underrepresented in biological sciences. To understand this variability, we examine how girls in the process of making higher education choices compare different STEM-fields to each other. We draw upon dimensional comparison theory, which argues that educational motivation involves intra-individual comparisons of achievement across school subjects. However, previous research has shown that a focus on achievement in STEM is not enough, anticipated belonging in a STEM-field plays a pivotal role in interest in pursuing that field. Consistent with this, we examined participants' comparisons of anticipated belonging across STEM-fields. A sample of 343 high school girls in STEM-focused university tracks completed a survey on their anticipated belonging and interest in pursuing different STEM majors. Latent Profile Analysis resulted in 3 profiles, showing different belonging comparison patterns across STEM-fields. Examining these comparisons--both within and across profiles--showed how girls felt pushed away from certain STEM-fields and pulled toward others. The findings suggest that for interest in pursuing specific STEM-fields it is not just about the level of anticipated belonging "within" that STEM-field, but just as much about the level of anticipated belonging "in comparison to" another STEM-field.

This editorial examines the impact of sex and gender on power, status, dominance, and leadership in human and mammalian societies. It emphasizes the need for collaboration between natural and social sciences to study these topics. The research combines contributions from ecology, biology, psychology, and management to gain a deeper understanding of gender inequalities and explore ways to reduce disparities. The article discusses various studies on the effects of sex and gender on power dynamics, including the role of emotional labor in women's prosocial power and the dynamics of male-female power in non-human societies. The goal is to develop a more comprehensive and interdisciplinary understanding of gender differences in power dynamics, which could contribute to empowering women. [Extracted from the article]

This article examines the impact of sex and gender on power, dominance, and leadership in human and mammalian societies. It emphasizes the similarities in the unequal distribution of power between males and females in both human and animal societies. The article highlights the need for interdisciplinary research and collaboration between natural and social sciences to gain a comprehensive understanding of these dynamics. It explores various factors that influence women's advancement to powerful positions and the evaluation of female and male leaders. The article also discusses the evolutionary origins and flexibility of intersexual dominance in mammalian societies, with a focus on lemurs. Overall, the goal of the research is to deepen our understanding of gender and sex inequalities and generate insights into reducing disparities. [Extracted from the article]

Although higher education has become more accessible to people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, the transition to university is more difficult for first- compared to continuing-generation students. Previous research showed that social identity processes are key to understand differences between first- and continuing-generation students' experiences at university. In the present paper, we argue that social background identity concealment may occur as a coping process among first-generation students. A longitudinal study among 829 first-year university students showed that first-generation students indeed concealed their social background at university more than continuing-generation students. This was especially the case when they had experienced concerns about their social belonging at university, indicating that identity concealment resulted from concerns to fit in at university. Finally, social background concealment was related to a decrease in well-being, suggesting that concealment is a costly social identity management strategy. Instead, universities should put in efforts to increase first-generation students' sense of belonging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the degree to which women in a male-dominated field cope with daily experiences of social identity threat by distancing themselves from other women. A daily experience-sampling study among female soldiers (N = 345 data points nested in 61 participants) showed women to self-group distance more on days in which they experienced more identity threat. This was mediated by daily concerns about belonging but not achievement in the military, supporting the explanation that women distance from other women as a way to fit in a masculine domain. However, on a daily basis, self-group distancing did not appear to protect women's outcomes as it was related to lower daily well-being and motivation. The findings indicate that targets are not passive recipients of identity threat but active agents coping daily with the challenges they face, but that regulation strategies may also incur costs. Implications for theories on coping with stigma and costs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]