Desenvolvimento de carreira de mulheres em STEM: o papel dos autoconceitos

Abstract

The participation of women in the labor market has increased significantly over the years. However, there is still a very significant female underrepresentation in areas such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in several countries around the world. Faced with this reality, it is questioned how much psychological factors such as self-concepts can predict women's professional choices, as well as affect their permanence and advancement in STEM fields. Thus, the general objective of this dissertation is to verify the influence of self-concepts for women’s career choice, permanence and advancement in predominantly male professions. To achieve this objective, three studies were carried out. In the first study, it was intended to identify how self-concepts impact women’s career development in predominantly male professions through a systematic and integrative literature review. 282 studies on the topic were analyzed. The results indicated that most studies focuses on the stage of career choice and few studies address the permanence and advancement stages. Specific contributions to STEM contexts are even scarcer in all stages. The most discussed self-concepts are self-efficacy and self-esteem, with little to no research considering the locus of control and self-confidence. In the second study, a survey aimed to analyze the influence of the perception of self-efficacy, self-esteem and locus of control on women’s career permanence and advancement in STEM. The survey had a sample of 107 women, over 18 years old, who belong to STEM areas. Data analysis was carried out through descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that self-concepts can be important for obtaining STEM jobs, for retention and for hierarchical level changing in these fields. The third study aimed to analyze the impact of a career intervention on women’s self-efficacy, self-esteem and locus of control in predominantly male professions. The intervention, carried out like an online mentoring program, had a sample of 20 women, over 18 years old, who belong to STEM areas. Data analysis was carried out through descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicated that participation in a mentoring program generated statistically significant differences in the scores of self-efficacy, self-esteem and locus of control in mentees, but the same was not observed in mentors. It is concluded that this dissertation contributed to the expansion of knowledge about the impact of self-concepts for women’s career choice, permanence and advancement in STEM fields and how development of self-concepts can be an alternative for facing psychological and contextual barriers that still persist in the labor market and often prevent women from persisting and achieving success in their careers, especially in predominantly male areas.