Buffers to Online Harassment in Women’s Pursuit of STEM Careers
Rachael Bryant, Jennifer Hightower and, Bryan Dawson Ph.D
Background:
Women have consistently chosen not to enter into careers in the science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, and they only
represent “twenty-four percent of the STEM workforce (“Women and Girls in
STEM,” 2013, p.1). ” While STEM fields such as
programming for video games and other similar career paths may seem like a
logical career choice for women who have played video games, prior research
suggests that women do not enter the STEM fields as readily as men.
We hypothesized that discrimination against women in video games may
make them less likely to pursue careers in the STEM fields. We also examined
the buffers, such as family bonds and personality traits, for women who do
pursue careers in the STEM fields, hypothesizing that these buffers in a
woman’s life would make her more likely to consider a career in the STEM
fields.
Method:
Participants:
Data were collected through an online survey using Qualtrics that was
taken by five-hundred Caucasian women and five-hundred ethnic minority
women.
Through the survey, we assessed the participants’ reactions to
discrimination and harassment, their likelihood to enter the STEM fields, and
the role of supportive family members and friends as well as their personality
characteristics as a buffer to online harassment in pursuing careers in the
STEM fields.
Scales:
Participants answered questions based on scales including:
• Attitudes toward Women Scale (Spence and Helmreich, 1972), α=.683
• Personal Attributes Questionnaire (Spence, Helmreich & Stapp, 1973) α=.451
• Video Game Sexism Scale (Fox & Tang, 2013) α=.954
• Player Motivations (Yee, 2006) α=.850
• Social Dominance Scale (Sidanius and Pratto 1999) α=.785
• Hostile Online Environment Questionnaire (Unfriendly) α=.464
Figure 2 Reporting when playing with romantic
partner
Figure 3
Discrimination and Reporting
discriminated against and reports often
discriminated against and does not report often
play regularly with a romantic partner and often report
harassment
Play regulary with a romantic partner and do not often
report harassment
10%
44%
56%
90%
Figure 3:
• Means derived from t-tests analyzed
through SPSS about discrimination
and reporting it in the video game
systems
Figures 2:
• Means derived from t-tests analyzed
through SPSS about playing with
romantic partner and reporting
harassment
Figure 4
Sexually harassed online and play with romantic
partner
38%
8%
Figure 4
• Chi square analyses
derived from SPSS about
sexual harassment and
playing with romantic
partner
40%
Figure 5
Online community and playing with romantic
partner
Figure 1
online community and play with romantic partner
online community and no playing with romantic partner
no online community and play with romantic partner
no online community and no playing with romantic partner
Frequencies
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
27%
Considered a career have not considered still pursuing/have a
in designing video
a career in video
career in video
games
games
games
not still
pursuing/have a
career in video
games
Figure 1:
• Frequencies of have considered, have not considered, still
pursuing, and still not pursuing a career in video games were
analyzed through SPSS.
19%
25%
29%
in designing video games χ² (1, N = 683) = 8.396a, p <. .005. (figure1)
• Most women who have experienced sexual harassment after decideing to pursue
a career in video games, continue to pursue a career or have a career in
designing video games χ² (1, =161)=.175, p=.719. (figure 1)
•Those who would regularly play with their significant other report others for
harassment online (N=290,M=1.9, SD=1.155, SEM=.068) significantly more
than those who do not report harassment (N=311,M=1.23, SD=.686, SEM=.
039) t(599)=4.258, p<.000. (figure 2)
•Those who have been discriminated online (N=62, M=1.95, SD=1.384, SEM=.176)
report players significantly more often than those that have not been
discriminated against (N=539, M=1.33, SD=.872, SEM=.038) t(599)=4.961,
p<.000. (figure 3)
•Women who would rather play with their significant other are more likely to have
been sexually harassed by someone online than those who does not play with
ther significant other X2 (1, N = 683) = 7.824a, p <. .006 (figure 4)
•Those who would regulrarly play with their significant other are more likely to not
feel that they are a part of an online community χ² (1, N=683)=5.351, p=.025
(Figure 5)
Discussion:
sexually harassed online and play with romantic partner
sexually harassed online and does not play with romantic partner
not sexually harassed online and plays with romantic partner
not sexually harassed online and does not play with romantic partner
14%
Results:
• Most women who have experienced sexual harassment do not consider a career
Although harassment does seem to prevent women from considering a career
in the STEM fields, women who have already made the decision to pursue or have
a career in the STEM fields are no longer affected by the harassment that they may
experience.
Women who have been discriminated against do utilize the reporting system in
video games more than those who have not been discriminated against at an
extremely significant rate.
One coping mechanism that may be used as a buffer for women who continue
to play video games regardless of harassment is playing with their significant other.
These women tend to report harassment more often, although they are harassed
online more often than women who do not play with their significant other.
Those who play regularly with their significant other are more likely to not feel
that they are a part of an online community which may mean that because they play
so much with their significant other they are not able to form online relationships or
they may have no desire to form those types of relationships at all.
Conclusion/ Implications:
Figure 5:
• Chi square analyzes
derived from SPSS
about feeling apart of an
online community and
playing video games
with a romantic partner
It is possible that more women would be able to enter into STEM fields if they
felt more comfortable with the environment and knew that they would not face much
discrimination. Many women shy away from STEM fields due to societal norms
conformations and discrimination that may occur.
Many women who have encountered harassment while playing utilize the
reporting mechanisms in video games, however these mechanisms are not
perceived as reliable as they could be. If they were improved, it is possible that
more women would be willing to keep playing regardless of any harassment
because they would feel as if they have more control over any situation that may
appear.