The experience of women students in engineering and mathematics careers: a focus group study

The gender gap is a problem that occurs in different forms in regions and countries around the world. It is a goal of large international organisations, governments, companies and other entities. Although it is not a new issue, it is important to continue studying it and seek mechanisms and strategies to attract and maintain more women in these areas. In particular, in the field of education and employment, the STEM areas present large gender gaps whose reduction would not only impact the equality of men and women but would also have an impact on the economy of the countries and on improving the economic situation of women. In this context, there are initiatives in Latin America working on this issue, but it is necessary to look more deeply into the elements that influence the decision to study careers in these areas. In this context, two focus groups have been held as roundtables with STEM women from different Latin American and European countries, to answer a series of questions centred on their motivations and decisions before and during their university studies. The results obtained have provided some inputs for defining gender equality action plans in ten Higher Education Institutions from Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Mexico. Furthermore, the results show similarities with previous studies involving STEM women with different Latin American profiles.

Implementing mechanisms and strategies in the higher education system are measures to close the gender gap. However, it requires a holistic approach that involves all educational and professional stages, integrating universities, industry, and government efforts to develop national policies towards reducing the gender gap. In this context, the W-STEM project, "Building the future of Latin America: engaging women into STEM," aims to involve higher education institutions across Latin America and Europe to establish mechanisms of attraction, access, and guidance of women into STEM careers.
Several factors influence the gender gap in STEM disciplines. Different studies focused on the contextual influences during active phases of educational or career decision making [1][2][3][4][5]. According to the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) [6] and the subsequent adaptations [7,8], some of the main influential factors are self-perception, self-efficacy, interest in science, expectations of results, previous educational experiences, family and social context, personal characteristics of the person and his/her objectives when deciding which studies to take. Before enrolling in STEM careers, the support or barriers can impact the number of women enrolled in STEM careers [9]. However, the effort to reduce the gender gap does not finish at this stage; it starts in the first educational stages and continues during professional life, according to the Leaky Pipeline phenomenon. There are also a high number of women who drop out in STEM studies. During their studies, the university context can have an impact on the drop out numbers, comfort in the university environment [10], teachers support [1] or the support received from the faculty [11] are some factors identified in previous studies.
This study aims to analyse the perception of undergraduate and graduate students of STEM studies to identify the support and barriers that influenced their career decision-making, focusing on the socio-cultural context, and the support and barriers perception of women in the university context during 978-1-7281-8478-4/21/$31.00 ©2021 IEEE 21-23 April 2021, Vienna, Austria

IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON)
Page 50 their STEM studies. A set of research questions were defined to achieve this objective: • RQ1: Which motivations and ideas motivated or made it more difficult to choose a STEM career?
• RQ2: What influence has the socio-cultural context (family, friends, couple, etc.) had on the educational path?
• RQ3: What is the perception of support and barriers women have concerning the university context during their studies in STEM areas?
The rest of the document is organised as follows. Section 2 describes the roundtables organised with engineering and mathematics students. Section 3 presents the results concerning gender equality. Finally, the last section summarises the main conclusions derived from this work.

II. App r o a c h
The study was carried out in April and May 2020, during the COVID-19 crisis. Two international focus groups were organised to answer the research questions. The focus groups were developed as online roundtables discussions with female students and graduates in STEM studies. The roundtables were organised as online events streamed through YouTube and Facebook Live ( Figure 1). Furthermore, the events are framed as part of the W-STEM project's activities (Building the future of Latin America: engaging women into STEM), a cooperation project between Europe and Latin America funded by the European Union. The project aims to reduce the gender gap in STEM careers in Latin America, establishing mechanism and strategies in the processes of attraction, access, retention and orientation in Higher Education Institutions [12,13]. Each roundtable was focused on a STEM area and related to an International Day to engage more people. The first roundtable was on 23 April during the Girls in ICT Day and it was focused on ICT-related studies such as Computer Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering or Systems Engineering. This roundtable involved 14 female students and graduates from Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, United Kingdom, and Spain. It is important to notice that the roundtable was in Spanish, so the participants from non-Spanish speakers' countries were women who speak Spanish (Table I).  (Table II).
It is also important to note that the participants invited to both roundtables are STEM women who are not actively involved in bridging the gender gap in these areas and have no connection to the W-STEM project. This approach was aimed at reducing biases as much as possible. Besides, the participants had no prior instructions on how the discussion would be conducted. The roundtables were in Spanish to facilitate the discussion. Each one took 90 minutes and was moderated by two women researchers related to mathematics and software engineering. The roundtables were divided into two phases. A first phase in which each woman answered the focus group questions and a second phase in which women answered the online attendants' questions. The questions were: • Why did you choose to study ICT/mathematics, and what career do you hope to pursue?
• What is your experience as a student of ICT/mathematics? Did anything surprise you? Do you find it fun? Would you recommend it?
• What can be done to encourage more women and girls to study ICT/mathematics?
The qualitative analysis of the content has been carried out by having the literal speeches transcribed. Once the transcriptions have been read, the meta-categories and categories of the concept map have been created from the collected discourses. For the construction of the categories, the elements highlighted by the participants in the focus groups, in the answers to the questions, have been considered. Subsequently, it has been possible to coding the contents in the categorical system in order to link the narratives with the concepts of the map.
This analysis process can be carried out through qualitative analysis programmes that support the process of creating the meta-categories and subcategories, to facilitate codification [14].

III. Re s u l t s a n d d i s c u s s i o n
Three main questions have been asked in the focus groups. The first one related to the reason for the choice of studies, which could be mathematics or ICT. The second question related to the experience as a student of mathematics or ICT and issues to be highlighted. The third question related to how to motivate other women and girls to study mathematics or ICT.
From the answers given by the participants of the two focus groups held, it has been observed that, about the reason for choosing these studies, the following stand out: tradition, care for others, participation in initiatives such as competitions, championships and Olympics related to science, interest in these studies, passion for the chosen studies and the usefulness found in these studies (mathematics or ICT).
Some of the women indicate that they chose such studies because they were good at the subject at school and therefore did not question other study options but were clear that it should be that option. This does not mean that family tradition also plays a role; if the parents or siblings, mainly the boys, have taken these studies, the daughters follow the professional path. This can be seen from the statements of two participants in the ICT focus group: P4. Because at school I was doing well in physics and mathematics and in my time, it was like natural selection. I f we were doing well in those subjects, we had to make a career out o f them. P3. I liked science, maths and physics at school, but I did have a reference point. My father is a telecommunications engineer, so it was effortless fo r me to say, "I do the same thing and that's it".
In other cases, the first option was studies linked to the care of other people, such as medicine. Even the family was more supportive of their daughters if they decided to go for this type of study. However, after thinking about it, they decided to opt for other kinds of studies such as mathematics and ICT, where they felt they could also contribute to society. This was stated by one of the participants in the mathematics focus group: Also, in the case of mathematics, the usefulness found in studies makes up a key element: P11. What has encouraged me since I was very young about mathematics is that it is unpredictable and straightforward fo r every aspect o f everyday life. Since I was very young, it was a skill that has been honed, which is also a fundamental tool.
On the other hand, another necessary category of analysis is social influences. These influences can be family, peer group, other references such as teachers, etc. However, these influences can favour or hinder the decision-making process. In the mathematics group, two participants indicate the family influence: P4. It  However, it is not only the family that is an essential socialising element in influencing the decision, but also the teachers. In the case of mathematics: P9. I had an approach, but more than anything else I think what motivated me to study the physics-mathematics degree was a lecture I heard from a physicist while I was in high school, where, with a lot ofpassion and overflowing with an interest fo r his area and his specialisation, he spoke about the need we human beings have to understand the environment around us, to understand many o f the phenomena that occur. And in the case of ICT: P2. I entered Systems Engineering, and I didn t know what I was getting into and I chose it. It was because o f a physics teacher at the school who considered me to be very good at the subject and who had potential and told me "study this career, it has potential". This career has made me fa ll in love.
By looking at the elements that the participating women highlight in their studies, benefits and difficulties can be identified. Especially in ICT, the variety of areas in which a person can specialise, and work has been highlighted: P9. The good thing Ifin d about ICT is that you can work in any area and learn any area ofthe same computer science.
Interestingly, of the five difficulties mostly encountered in training by these women, two are related to women's invisibility, and another problem is related to the invisibility of studies. Therefore, we should ask ourselves what is happening socially so that women feel that they are being left out of the scientific and technical education system or that they are not reaching it. In ICT, the gender gap is indicated: P6. It is impressive that there are fa r few er women and there isfar lesspresence ofwomen, but there is also so much need fo r critical thinking that we women generate, and in my case, we are starting more than we are advancing. So However, two other difficulties identified are the difficulty of the studies themselves, as indicated in ICT: P8. The truth is that race has been a rollercoaster ride o f emotions. I'll be super honest; I wasn't very close to maths and physics, so when I took the challenge to enter an engineering school, it was scary and difficult. It cost me a lot. But with studies, with work, with dedication and the fa ct o f not giving up, one manages to get everything out. And you also identify the difficulty of finding ajob, as indicated in the maths group: P1. There is something important, in the subject o f studying mathematics it has always been saying "don't study mathematics, why would you study that, people are dying o f hunger, people don't get jobs ".
Once this point has been reached, women and girls need to be motivated to pursue the studies that they like and are excited about. We must move away from gender biases, from stereotypes. We must also move away from preconceived ideas that women are better able to care for others or will find more employment if they go to other studies. Positive factors must be promoted, such as those social references that female students have that encourage them to follow the path that they like. Therefore, to close the focus group sessions, participants are asked what they would say to other girls and women to encourage them to study mathematics and ICT. In the mathematics group, the following stand out: P3. I want the girls who did not have the option like me tofind that love fo r mathematics in that competition, to know that mathematics is much more. Maths is much more than calculus; it is super beautiful, and I would love to invite them to learn a little more about mathematics. Mathematics at heart is everywhere. P1. I see the faces o f all these young girls and what I would like to say to them is that it is not easy, but there is something in their heart that tells them "that is the right way to go ", it is a passion. Although it is the most challenging path, although it will not give you the immediate satisfaction that love, that passion is what will allow them to move forward. And in the ICT group, the following participant stands out: P11. I believe that both women and men can take risks with the things or decisions they make. It is not a question o f gender. It's each person, each person has different thoughts, and each person is going to make other decisions, so I think we must move away from gender. Figure 2 shows the concept map with the system of metacategories and categories.  Page 54 Following the results, it should be indicated that [15] produced similar results to those described in this study, within another experience of the W -STEM project carried out with women different from the current study. In this previous study, women also expressed their passion for their studies and pointed out that family and teachers have a unique role in choosing their studies. In some cases, the influence has been positive, and in other cases, the impact has contributed to women questioning their abilities, feeling less valid. Also, in [16], women were also strongly motivated to get other women and girls to fight for their dreams, away from the fear of daring.
As a society, we must work for equal opportunities; we must fight to mitigate the gender biases and stereotypes that still perpetuate inequalities. Prejudices that professions are gendered must be uprooted. And from the educational levels, interventions must also be directed towards the family and the environment of girls and women.
Finally, answering the three research questions posed in the study:

RQ1: Which motivations and ideas motivated or made it more difficult to choose a STEM career?
The women participating in the study highlight some of the motivations that encouraged them to study their studies. On the one hand, some of them have always been attracted to higher education; some even have a strong passion for it. Another motivation that these women find is the variety of areas they can specialise and work in, within mathematics and ICT. In this sense, the awareness of the usefulness of their studies has been a driving force in their decision to pursue them. Some of the women have previously participated in scientific-technical initiatives such as the Academic Olympiads, competitions and championships. Initially, when they participated in these initiatives, they were not clear about their professional vocation. However, participation in these initiatives helped to dispel their doubts. This is why it is important to encourage participation in initiatives of these characteristics, intending to explore personal interests. In another hemisphere, one finds motivations such as tradition. In this sense, some women have chosen such studies following the family tradition of their parents or brothers. However, these studies are also selected for their knowledge of the comfort zone. Those women who felt that they were good at the subjects associated with mathematics and ICT, in some cases, decide to follow that educational option. And finally, there are some cases where women wanted to devote themselves to caring for others, mainly through medicine. However, after trying this option or seriously considering it, they chose mathematics and ICT as a means of contributing to society.

RQ2
: What influence has the socio-cultural context (family, friends, couple, etc.) had on the educationalpath?
The primary contexts that have conditioned the choice have been family and teachers. The family has conditioned the preference of their studies for and against. In contrast, gender biases and stereotypes continue to be reproduced. The preconceived idea that women should care for others and also teach continues to spread. Some women are sent the message that they are not good enough to be scientific and technical professionals.
On the other hand, the profession is also underestimated, conveying that "if you study that, you will starve and not find work". However, not everything is pessimistic. Some families support their daughters' decisions through modelling. There are women who follow this educational option because their family has been an example to follow.
On the other hand, teachers also provide motivating references for women, from which they can follow their example. This is the case with some teachers who verbally motivate the girls and even transmit their subject with passion.
Regarding teachers and families as a whole, some women stress that caution is required. In some cases, women are told "if you want, I can help you", assuming that they cannot do it alone. Doing this can make the person feel undervalued, so we must give the woman the possibility to explore her capacities and abilities, and if necessary, let her be the one to ask for help.

RQ3: What is the perception o f support and barriers women have concerning the university context during their studies in STEM areas?
In general, all the women in the study give motivational messages to those women and girls who are attracted to mathematics and ICT, but who do not dare to pursue these studies. In some cases, fear holds back women who want to study science and technology. This is why these women are more self-confident and move away from the biases that exist towards women in STEM.
Some of the problems and difficulties they identify in the university context during their STEM studies are the gender gap, gender stereotypes, the lack of visibility of women in STEM, the lack of information about the studies, and also, the level of difficulty of the studies and the subsequent difficulty in finding work about it.
They point out that they felt strange in the classrooms as they were the only ones among so many men. Although they stress that they were well treated by their colleagues, they also highlight that the rates of representation of women are lower. Furthermore, the stereotypes in which they have grownup cannot be ignored. These stereotypes underestimate their ability to perform STEM work. However, sometimes there is not enough information about the studies they want to take, which also makes it difficult to access them.

IV. Co n c l u s i o n s
Among the outputs of W-STEM is the definition of gender equality action plans for the Latin American higher education institutions involved in the project. The action plans are focused on reflecting the strategies and mechanisms to improve the processes of attraction, access and guidance of women into STEM studies at higher education institutions.
The focus group study carried out with students from different universities across Latin America (Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico) and Europe (Finland, Ireland, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom) has provided some inputs for the definition of gender equality action plans in the involved institutions. Although it is not possible to generalise the results to all young women in Latin America, the results complement other quantitative studies. The application of focus groups as a qualitative analysis technique allows discussions on a topic