# data[].attributes.body
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2021 shows that discrimination against women in the STEM sector is still very high

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
OECD Social Institutions and Gender Index on the Gender Bias

# data[].attributes.body
Where does the origin of gender discrimination come from?

How has the gender gap developed over the years?

What effect does unconscious bias against women have on society?

What impact does gender bias have on the market?

What should be done in order to achieve some positive progress against these inequalities?

# data[].attributes.body
Women encounter many barriers to advancement in STEM positions, including unconscious gender biases, which affect society and the economy. Gender biases lead to gender-based discrimination and prevent highly skilled women from advancing in their careers and being represented in leadership positions (role models).

These biases belong to a broader mentality of clear distinction between female and male roles in society, creating a bipolar construct of female and male occupations. This construct implies a mutual exclusion between “masculine professions” and “feminine professions”

# data[].attributes.body
Equal access to resources and opportunities for all segregated towards male favoritism

The 19th century Industrial Revolution was a turning point in shaping the role of women in society, which later led to unconscious gender biases

Women were not allowed to engage in public social sphere and certain financial services were denied to them

Men were perceived as rational maximisers - "homo economicus" also called "breadwinners"

Men were viewed as better suited for the financial or IT sector

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
OECD Social Institutions and Gender Index Report

# data[].attributes.body
Social institutions concerning gender disparity are long-standing ideals, beliefs, and rules of conduct that manifest via habits, traditions, cultural practices, routines, and formal and informal laws

Feminist Institutionalism proposes a new method of viewing the establishment of institutions that differ from traditional perspectives by considering the gendered stigma and effects that come with them

Institutions, including the state, law, politics, and the economy, have traditionally been designed, established, and judged by males, excluding women’s perspectives and it is generally believed by researchers that the masculinized gender is embedded in political institutions developed by and for males

# data[].attributes.body
Only 28% of the workforce in STEM are women

Children begin to develop stereotypical views of scientists at a very early age, the environment around them shapes girls’ achievements and interest in STEM: societal beliefs, learning environment, and education from an early age play a significant role

Boys tend to rate their mathematical capabilities more highly than girls and develop greater confidence in STEM via experience opportunities, missing confidence of women in STEM then influences their career choices and lead to their underrepresentation in the field

Moreover, women lack female role models in STEM:“There are simply no female role models that I could look up to to see what the next chapter of my life might look like if I stayed in the industry” - Fleming 2018

Women tend to quit STEM education and leave STEM careers at a much higher rate than men, mainly due to a hostile environment and self-confidence issues.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Income loss associated with discrimination in social institutions by region

# data[].attributes.body
Since there is no rational explanation for gender discrimination we looked for when this discrimination was invented and what effects, benefits and disadvantages it had. Then we looked at how it is institutionally embedded into our society and often unconsciously overlooked. We wanted to know how those biases affect women in their daily activities and throughout their whole life. Lastly, we looked for solutions on a micro, meso and macro level and hope we can bring more awareness to this unconscious bias affecting the whole market and everyone.

# data[].attributes.body
Current gender-based discrimination lowers talent pools, impedes economic growth, and generates high costs

Having approximately 50% of women in leadership significantly impacts sustainable financial returns, implying that STEM corporations’ cultures must adapt

Women and STEM complement each other: the sector is highly flexible, as opportunities for STEM online jobs are increasing; thus, women in STEM can outstandingly stay in touch with their careers despite their other gender-stereotypic duties

# data[].attributes.body
It does not just affect women but the whole market so we should and have to work together in order to gain significant Net Gains from a fully effective market without unfair discrimination. With the rapid development of our technology and engineering, minorities also run danger of fully being excluded and discriminated in an irreversible and destructive way.

# data[].attributes.body
Various signs of progress toward gender equality were made, such as the implementation of quotas or cross-country gender-related indices. Many, for instance, equal employment and payment, are yet to come.
Fast results can be achieved through changing mindsets in offices that provide a welcoming atmosphere and safe space to everyone with unbiased procedures or mentors. Additionally, more role models and meetings with women in the field are fundamental to incentivize the following generations.
Governments need to become more active, implementing policies or certain quotas but we also have to start electing boards and governments differently.

# data[].attributes.body
Marchand (2015). Markets/marketization in feminist perspective

OECD Sigi Regional Report for Latin America and the Caribbean, Social Institutions and Gender Index of 2019 and 2020

UNESCO (2017). Cracking the code: girls’ and women’s education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)

De Soysa & Jütting (2007). Informal Institutions How Social Norms Help or Hinder Development

Ferrant & Kolev (2016). Does gender discrimination in social institutions matter for long-term growth?: Cross-country evidence. OECD Development Centre Working Papers.

Kong et al. (2020). Reducing gender bias in STEM. MIT Science Policy Review

# data[].attributes.body
We are aware of the immense title, which we could've formulated better, and the formatting and concluding of the topic which we could have further perfected. We received a very extensive and deep topic and even though we focused on only one market sector we still struggled to stay within the word and page count with all the facts and ideas we had. This might've made our essay seem massive but as the feedback also mentioned we found extensive literature and tried our best to assess all important angles of it. We have corrected the essay ourselves and have run it through Grammarly several times with no grammar mistakes left so we weren’t aware of any more grammatical or punctuation errors. The essay we received to review as well neither contained a word or page count and we were not aware that this was asked of us.