Being a 20-year-old Sikh woman and growing up in an upper-middle-class family was a double whammy as socialization and gender roles came together to bite my educational and career aspirations. According to Durkheim (2023), socialization refers to individuals’ internalization of societal norms and values through the auspices of institutions such as the family, Education, and the media. My family emphasized academic excellence and advocated STEM fields for me, among other things, attributing their belief in Education as the key to success. Such cultural capital reflects Bourdieu’s (1984) idea that background and resource access affect Education. Nevertheless, these expectations did not mesh with societal gender roles. According to Eagly’s (1987) Social Role Theory, gender roles are socially constructed, gendered expectations of appropriate behaviours for men and women. However, even with my family’s support, I saw how sociocultural stereotypes labelled pursuing STEM as a girl were discouraged due to the field being represented as male only. This delineates that socialization and social expectations influence personal prospects as there is space for familial encouragement to compete with societal expectations.
For instance, while in high school, I joined a robotics club where I was one of ten students and the only girl in the group. I liked the problem-solving and the problem-solving part, but I also contributed less than my peers. This is consistent with Ridgeway’s (2011) notion of status beliefs in that gender stereotypes affect how people are perceived in the context of groups. In my experience, women in STEM are not helped by their families to break free from traditional gender roles that can hinder their ability to participate in STEM. However, there was a lack of female role models to look to in STEM, which made picturing myself in any of these fields very difficult. This fits with Bourdieu’s (1984) concept of cultural capital, which means the lack of visible female mentors in STEM denied me the context and ability to figure out that I could be a success in that field.
My family’s educational focus and strong resolve enabled me to continue. According to Bandura’s (1977) self-efficacy theory, self-confidence in one’s abilities makes societal barriers surmountable. My parents gave me the extracurricular STEM activities in a science fair to build my self-esteem. I encountered life experiences that showed social barriers, but they were addressed by personal motivation and the support of the supportive network. It enables a better insight into why socialization processes and gender expectations impact personal potential development as much as in the STEM fields for women.
In this social context, my Sikh female identity adds additional complexities. My desire to work in a career that befits the Sikh values of equality and service is rooted in the—unique roadblocks developed by my bringing together my cultural background and adulthood. Having a sister, a sister-in-law, a mother, and a wife are two minority groups that made me demonstrate how much I’m worth on more than one occasion because I’m a woman. Crenshaw (2021) offers a theory of intersectionality, which shows that when different personal traits are combined, an individual is discriminated against more. From my life experiences, I can understand how socialization, gender roles, and cultural identity shape personal obstacles and possibilities in particular.
Section Two: Applied Research (540)
Article 1
Liu, X., Qin, N., & Wei, X. (2025). Crossing gender boundaries: Exploring the chain-mediated causal role of social media sharing in shaping interpersonal networks and enhancing job satisfaction. Behavioral Sciences, 15(74), 1–20.
Liu et al. (2025) consider how gender affects job satisfaction concerning the frequency of sharing social media content and its social connectedness. The study revealed that women spend much time sharing content on social networks, increasing their job satisfaction through improved interpersonal communication. This aligns with Eagly’s (1987) Social Role Theory, which postulates that women are trained to focus more on interpersonal skills and emotional communication. The authors believe that due to women sharing their knowledge more often, communication is enhanced, leading to improved satisfaction in the workplace. However, there are several limitations to this study. First, they use self-assessment to collect data, which often skews the results as people remember or indicate more favourable behaviours than unfavourable ones. Secondly, the study is still relatively limited in determining how cultural issues affect social media usage. For instance, as a Sikh female, the culture requires women to cover their heads and preserve their privacy, making it hard to celebrate accomplishments on the internet. This implies that the study’s results cannot be generalized to other populations. First, the given study fails to consider the negative consequences of social media use; for instance, cyberbullying or the need to maintain an image may harm job satisfaction. Nevertheless, regarding the focus on how social media enhances interpersonal communication, the study captures that those digital platforms can be helpful for women as they struggle with minority positions in male-populated STEM fields. By doing so, I can apply these concepts to analyze how social media can be effective for networking and breaking the gender divide. For example, I have connected to women in STEM through LinkedIn and received valuable information and advice on addressing various issues in my area of specialization. Not only does this research confirm firsthand and secondhand accounts of discrimination, ageism, and harassment, but it also outlines a course of action to resolve these issues and actively use social media to achieve gender equality in the workplace. Hence, the role of gender and culture and the impact of these factors on engagement in social media should be addressed in future research.
Article 2
Kaplan Sayı, A., Yurtseven, N., Karadeniz, Ş., & Vatanartıran, S. (2023). Unraveling the situation of women in STEM areas from the European teacher perspective: Insights from FEMALES project. The Qualitative Report, 28(5), 1429–1451.
In their article titled STEM Career Aspirations and Barriers for Women: A Socialization Story, Kaplan Sayı et al. (2023) discuss the obstacles that hinder women from pursuing STEM courses or careers. The research established that cultural stereotypes keep girls out of STEM, and this results in few representations of women. This concurs with what Bourdieu (1984) described as cultural capital, the actual rules, formal and informal, and practices of a society that define who is worthy of accessing certain resources and opportunities. The researchers recognize that, first, it is necessary to depict females who work in STEM fields and develop interactive learning strategies, including game-based learning, to facilitate female learners’ interest in STEM fields. Nevertheless, the study has several limitations. First, many studies are based solely on European women, which cannot represent women from other parts of the world, such as South Asia. For instance, being a Sikh woman, I have noticed how traditional roles expected of women, especially in marriage and family, add to the woes of women in STEM. Second, the study fails to acknowledge the existence of additional factors that may compound gender, including race, religion, and class. As much as these limitations exist, the observational change focuses, such as infusing games into the learning context, should be applauded because they seek to overcome traditional classroom gender roles. With these ideas in mind, it is now possible to realize the value of advocacy and creative approaches toward addressing the hurdles that affect women in STEM fields. For example, I once attended a workshop by a female engineer. During the conversation, I realized that women can also have a career in STEM, strengthening my desire to continue my studies in this field. I can recognize my own experiences in this context and identify guidelines for developing better conditions for women in STEM. Thus, future research should focus on gender, culture, and/or socio-economic status to better explain women’s STEM representation challenges. Researchers should also focus on the culture and institutions that can be changed to increase gender equality within STEM disciplines.
Conclusion
Overall, the assignment demonstrates how socialization and gender roles impact women in STEM, including individuals who face those aspects and other marginalization. Liu et al. (2025) and Kaplan Sayı et al. (2023) featured articles in this paper highlight the contribution of social media and the barriers affecting the number of women in STEM. However, both researches have methodological flaws, including the use of self-reporting data and ignoring intersectionality. From analyzing these works and cross-referencing them with my own experience, I have learned more about the issues unique to women in STEM fields. In the end, responses entail not simply rectifying them as institutions but also as cultures that condone prejudice against women and impede their advancement. I am a Sikh woman, and recognizing such instances makes me think about the issues facing women, particularly in the STEM fields, and how barriers can be addressed in the future.
References
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191–215.
Bourdieu, P. (1984). A social critique of the judgement of taste. Cambridge, MA.
Crenshaw, K. (2021). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: a black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. Droit et société, 108, 465.
Durkheim, E. (2023). The rules of sociological method. In Social theory re-wired (pp. 9-14). Routledge.
Eagly, A. H. (1987). Sex differences in social behavior: A social-role interpretation. Psychology Press.
Kaplan Sayı, A., Yurtseven, N., Karadeniz, Ş., & Vatanartıran, S. (2023). Unraveling the situation of women in STEM areas from the European teacher perspective: Insights from FEMALES project. The Qualitative Report, 28(5), 1429–1451. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2023.5855
Liu, X., Qin, N., & Wei, X. (2025). Crossing gender boundaries: Exploring the chain-mediated causal role of social media sharing in shaping interpersonal networks and enhancing job satisfaction. Behavioral Sciences, 15(74), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15010074
Ridgeway, C. L. (2011). Framed by gender: How gender inequality persists in the modern world. Oxford University Press.
