Role Models and STEM Gender Gap

Last registered on April 10, 2023
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Role Models and STEM Gender Gap
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010317
Initial registration date
October 26, 2022

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
October 31, 2022, 3:54 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
April 10, 2023, 2:31 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
China
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Lipeng Chen
Affiliation
University of Rochester
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2022-10-16
End date
2023-08-31
Keywords
Education, Gender
Additional Keywords
gender, STEM, role model
JEL code(s)
A21, J16
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
There is a huge gender gap in STEM fields: women account for only 29.3% of the employees worldwide in scientific research and development (UNESCO, 2019). This can not only exacerbate gender inequality in the labor market because STEM occupations usually pay higher wages, but also become a self-fulling prophecy when female students have little chance to interact with women in STEM. Female role models are shown to help close the STEM gender gap in educational settings. In this project, randomly chosen classrooms at a high school are exposed to talks given by female scientists. The effects of the intervention on several student outcomes, including student academic performance, their attitudes toward STEM, and their choice of track, will be examined.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Chen, Lipeng. 2023. "Role Models and STEM Gender Gap." AEA RCT Registry. April 10. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10317-2.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2022-10-31
Intervention End Date
2023-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Student academic performance (test scores), their attitudes toward STEM, and their choice of the high school track (scientific track vs humanities track)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Randomly chosen classrooms at a high school will be exposed to talks given by female scientists
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done by a computer
Randomization Unit
Classroom
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
22 classrooms
Sample size: planned number of observations
1198 students (around 55 students per classroom)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
11 classrooms control, 11 classrooms treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Rochester Research Subjects Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2022-10-10
IRB Approval Number
STUDY00007584
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials