Editorial: Initiatives to raise young people's interest and participation in STEM

Abstract

The low share of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is a complex global phenomenon that requires further investigation, since it affects millions of women and girls worldwide. A broad range of interventions, based on a diversity of disciplinary, theoretical, and methodological approaches, have been conducted in different countries and contexts to encourage the participation of young women in various STEM disciplines, especially in those where women remain dramatically underrepresented, such as engineering and physical science. These interventions provide practitioners and policymakers with best practices to tackle the gender gap in STEM careers and professions, promote girls' positive attitudes towards scientific and technological fields, and identify barriers which stand in the way of higher female achievement in science and technology subjects, among other actions. To ensure that these interventions are effective, feasible, and well accepted by their participants, intervention studies grounded in quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods have been developed.