tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/female-students-28242/articlesFemale students – The Conversation2022-08-10T17:30:42Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1885462022-08-10T17:30:42Z2022-08-10T17:30:42ZWhy are there fewer young women in entrepreneurship than young men?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478526/original/file-20220810-16-fipb6a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C0%2C1920%2C1279&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">More than money or social prestige, it is the desire for freedom and independence that drives female students into entrepreneurship. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/fr/photos/femme-bureau-son-post-remarques-5678995/">magnetme/Pixabay</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2021, around <a href="https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/6041208">41% of businesses created</a> in France were created by women and only <a href="https://home.kpmg/fr/fr/home/media/press-releases/2015/06/portrait-s-femmes-dirigeantes-en-france.html">14% of women were business owners</a>. These figures are on the rise, but the progress is still rather slow.</p>
<p>And yet, young women and men now have the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship during their studies. The proportion of student companies created by female entrepreneurs is now 39% according to the business start-up scheme launched by France’s education ministry,<a href="https://www.pepite-france.fr/">Pépite France</a> in 2014. These young women are determined to succeed, and are calling on the higher education community to provide better support.</p>
<p>In order to observe and analyse entrepreneurship by women, the <a href="https://www.fnege.org/">National Foundation for Business Management Education</a> and Pépite France launched the Observatory of Gendered Perceptions of Entrepreneurship (<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6774696345333751808/https:/www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6774696345333751808/">Orelig</a>) on 8 March 2020. Its aim is to respond to two main objectives: to better understand the motivations of young women and the obstacles they face in creating or taking over an organization and to promote the implementation of actions to promote entrepreneurship among women.</p>
<p>The Observatory brings together a team of eight researchers from various backgrounds (public and Catholic universities, business schools). It is the first French initiative of its type. The issue of gender has not been systematically addressed in management science in France.</p>
<h2>The French lagging behind</h2>
<p>There are more than <a href="https://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php?category=3318">fifty highly reputable journals</a> on gender and economics in the world. They are supported by strong collectives, such as the <a href="https://www.womensbusinesscouncil.co.uk/">Women’s Business Council</a> established in the UK in 2013, which publishes an annual report on businesses owned and run by women.</p>
<p>French academic rankings show only two, including the leading journal <a href="http://www.feministeconomics.net/"><em>Feminist Economics</em></a>, which is not well regarded for its alternative approaches to orthodox economic theories. Orelig therefore offers a gender-focused perspective on entrepreneurship by young women in France. These surveys and analyses will be carried out annually, based on a particular theme or focus and expressed by the respondents.</p>
<p>An initial study was carried out in the first quarter of 2021 in 29 Student Centres - aka <em>“Pépites”</em>-, among its population of female student entrepreneurs. The analysis involved crossing quantitative and qualitative data.</p>
<p>Out of the 245 valid responses, Generation Z (young women under 26) made up the majority (78.8%). Three quarters of these student entrepreneurs had already had professional experience through internships or significant experience in non-profit organizations.</p>
<h2>An appetite for independence and freedom</h2>
<p>93.1% of the students surveyed said that they had registered with Pépite in order to set up their company, association or organization. However, commitment to an entrepreneurial project was not the only reason given by the respondents. For 27.8% of them, the purpose of the initiative is professional development. Indeed, it enables them to acquire skills that will be useful even if they do not start a business.</p>
<p>For more than 80% of the respondents, entrepreneurship allows for personal and professional fulfilment. This quest takes shape through three major dimensions: fulfilment through writing your own life story, beyond the simple act of taking part; fulfilment through creating a business that meets a need for others; fulfilment through making innovations or a contribution that can change society.</p>
<p>One woman expressed this search for fulfilment in the following way:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“What motivates me is to be able to do something that satisfies me, makes me proud and allows me to be fully independent.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is not a way to get around the difficulties encountered in the labour market. Nor are they aiming for wealth or a form of elitism. Only 20% of the students linked entrepreneurship to social prestige and for 30% of them it was a way to create their own job and earn money. In fact, these student entrepreneurs see entrepreneurship as a way to gain independence and real freedom. It is both a means and an end, as they do not envisage a return to the workforce.</p>
<p>More than half of the respondents associate entrepreneurship with working without a supervisor and the vast majority of them link it to the possibility of organizing their own time. This is their vision of work, both as a commitment in terms of value but also as self-fulfilment through creation and their own creativity. One entrepreneur listed the facets of her entrepreneurial vision:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Creating my own company means meeting a need, creating delight, choosing my profession, putting my skills at the service of the environment, being independent, being happy to get up in the morning, choosing my hours, choosing my partners, working in harmony with my vision, my ethics and my desires.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>A world “full of sharks”</h2>
<p>However, when they talk about the entrepreneurial journey, young women report the difficulties that lie ahead with a refreshing sense of lucidity. They list the problems of legitimacy, fundraising and credibility specific to their gender. For 57.1% of the respondents, most institutional contacts (financial sponsors, banks, suppliers, partners) are suspicious when a woman presents a business creation project. One woman explained:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I would like one day for society to be able to consciously and unconsciously consider women as credible as men… Unfortunately, this is still far from the truth.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A strong awareness of these obstacles does not stop them, however. They are determined to become entrepreneurs. One student entrepreneur said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“You have to believe in what you are doing and go for it! Don’t worry about others, life is full of sharks, it won’t do us any favours, so it’s up to us to turn things around and work for our future.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To ensure the success of their project, they seek out training, mentors and advice and, like their elders, want to reassure themselves of their capacity to become entrepreneurs. One respondent summarized her perception of the situation as follows:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Whether you are a man or a woman, even if some doors are closed, you just need to surround yourself with good, caring people and everything will be fine; each person will learn the necessary skills when the time comes or can rely on a team.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Based on these initial results, Orelig has suggested areas for reflection and action to promote entrepreneurship among young women in France. The aim is to analyse gender and generational effects on the perception of entrepreneurship and also to better understand the role of “Pépites” in supporting and defining the perception of entrepreneurship by student entrepreneurs.</p>
<p>The longevity of the Observatory and the dialogue it will have with other research in France are two of the concerns of its members. Other initiatives have been launched over the last 20 years and it is clear that it is not easy to maintain them over the long term, given the many challenges involved.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188546/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>A new French research collective, Orelig, set out to answer the question.Julie Tixier, Maîtresse de Conférences en sciences de gestion, Université Gustave EiffelKatia Richomme-Huet, Docteur, HDR en Sciences de Gestion Professeur en management et entrepreneuriat, Kedge Business SchoolMathieu Dunes, Maître de Conférences en Sciences de Gestion, Université de Picardie Jules Verne (UPJV)Najoua Boufaden, Professeure associée en entrepreneuriat et innovation, ISG International Business SchoolNathalie Lameta, Maitre de Conférences, IAE CorsePaola Duperray, Maître de conférences en sciences de gestion, Université catholique de l’Ouest Renaud Redien-Collot, Enseignant-chercheur en stratégie, ISC Paris Business SchoolTyphaine Lebègue, Maître de Conférence, IAE - Université de Tours, Laboratoire Vallorem (EA 6296)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/891262018-01-24T11:40:55Z2018-01-24T11:40:55ZHow talented kids from low-income families become America’s ‘Lost Einsteins’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202475/original/file-20180118-158550-ho38bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New research concludes that there are many “Lost Einsteins” in America – children who had the ability to become inventors but didn't because of where they were born.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/92399962?size=huge_jpg">Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Innovation is widely viewed as the engine of economic growth.</p>
<p>To maximize innovation and growth, all of our brightest youth should have the opportunity to become inventors. But a <a href="http://www.equality-of-opportunity.org/assets/documents/inventors_summary.pdf">study</a> we recently conducted, jointly with Neviana Petkova of the U.S. Treasury, paints a very different picture. We found that a child’s potential for future innovation seems to have as much to do with the circumstances of his or her family background as it does with his or her talent. </p>
<p>We concluded that there are many “Lost Einsteins” in America – children who had the ability to innovate, but whose socioeconomic class or gender greatly reduced their ability to tap into the social networks and resources necessary to become inventors. Our analysis sheds light on how increasing these young people’s exposure to innovators may be an important way to reduce these disparities and increase the number of inventors.</p>
<h2>Academic gaps widen with time</h2>
<p>Our first finding is that there are large differences in innovation rates by socioeconomic class, race and gender. Using new de-identified data that allows us to track 1.2 million inventors from birth to adulthood, we found that children born to parents in the top 1 percent of the income distribution are 10 times as likely to become inventors as those born to parents in the bottom half. Similarly, white children are three times as likely to become inventors as are black children. Only 18 percent of the youngest generation of inventors are female. Although the gender gap narrows somewhat each year, at the current rate of convergence, we won’t see gender balance until next century.</p>
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<p>This is not to say that talent doesn’t play some role in determining who invents in America. In fact, math test scores for students even as young as third grade tell us a great deal about who will innovate. Unsurprisingly, inventors are typically found in the top tiers of math test scores. More concerning is that while high-achieving youth from privileged backgrounds go on to invent at high rates, many comparably talented children from more modest backgrounds do not. Even among the most talented kids, family background is still an important determinant of who grows up to invent.</p>
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<p>The relative importance of privilege and skills changes as kids get older. And it does so in a way that suggests that differences in educational environment contribute to disparities in patent rates. Near the start of elementary school, we can identify many high-achieving students from less privileged backgrounds. But as these students get older, the difference in test scores between rich and poor become much more pronounced. By high school, youth from less privileged backgrounds who appeared to hold promise as future inventors when they were younger have fallen behind academically. Other recent <a href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w16256">research</a> suggests that differences in schools and neighborhoods play a large role in this socioeconomic divergence in skills. </p>
<p>If we could somehow get all kids to grow up to invent at the same rate as white boys from America’s wealthiest families – that is, families with an income of $100,000 or more – we would have four times as many inventors in America. So what can be done to keep these “Lost Einsteins” in the pipeline to become innovators?</p>
<h2>Cities full of inventors spawn more innovation</h2>
<p>We found that increasing exposure to innovation may be a powerful tool to increase the number of inventors in America, particularly among women, minorities and children from low-income families. To test the importance of exposure, we first counted the number of inventors that lived in each child’s city when the child was young. We use this measure as a proxy for exposure to innovation. After all, a child’s chances of coming into contact with inventors increase when there are more inventors around. We found that growing up in a city with more inventors substantially increases the likelihood that a child will become an inventor as an adult. This is true even when we took kids who were the children of inventors out of the analysis. This suggests that it’s not just children of inventors who are likely to become inventors themselves.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202476/original/file-20180118-158519-7mim70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202476/original/file-20180118-158519-7mim70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202476/original/file-20180118-158519-7mim70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202476/original/file-20180118-158519-7mim70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202476/original/file-20180118-158519-7mim70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202476/original/file-20180118-158519-7mim70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202476/original/file-20180118-158519-7mim70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">As time goes on, less privileged kids who had the talent to become inventors fall behind their more well-off peers academically.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/science-graphic-against-boy-holding-conical-295930646?src=9HRZMnKxniHLmVYUBKJ-Vw-1-46">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>We also found that kids who go on to become inventors tend to invent the same kinds of things as the inventors in the city where they grew up. For instance, among current Boston residents, those who grew up in Silicon Valley around computer innovators are most likely to invent computer-related technologies. On the other hand, Boston residents who grew up in Minneapolis – a hub for medical device companies – are more likely to invent new medical devices. These detailed patterns suggest that there is something specific about interactions with inventors during childhood that causes kids to follow in their footsteps.</p>
<p>The effects of growing up around inventors are large. Our estimates suggest that moving a child from an area at the 25th percentile of exposure to inventors, such as New Orleans, to one at the 75th percentile, such as Austin, Texas, would increase the child’s chances of growing up to invent a new technology by as much as 50 percent.</p>
<p>These effects are stronger when children are exposed to inventors with similar backgrounds. Girls who grow up in a city with more female inventors are more likely to invent, but growing up around adult male inventors has no effect on girls’ future innovation rates. Similarly, boys’ future innovation is influenced by the number of male rather than female inventors around them during childhood.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202674/original/file-20180120-110081-vs1i2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202674/original/file-20180120-110081-vs1i2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202674/original/file-20180120-110081-vs1i2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202674/original/file-20180120-110081-vs1i2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202674/original/file-20180120-110081-vs1i2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202674/original/file-20180120-110081-vs1i2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202674/original/file-20180120-110081-vs1i2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chicago students participate in an invention workshop meant to encourage more American students to become engineers and inventors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/James-Dyson-Foundation-Launch/b30bd099d0964aa180ab35bbecb062d9/23/0">AP/Peter Barreras</a></span>
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<p>Since underrepresented groups are likely to have fewer interactions with inventors through their families and neighborhoods, differences in exposure play a large role in these disparities. Indeed, our findings suggest that if young girls were exposed to female innovators at the same rate as boys are to male innovators, half of the gender gap in innovation would be erased. </p>
<p>Together, our findings call for greater focus on policies and programs to tap into our country’s underutilized talents by increasing exposure to innovation for girls and kids from underprivileged backgrounds. It may be particularly beneficial to focus on children who do well in math and science at early ages. </p>
<p>Such policies could include mentoring programs, internships or even interventions through social networks. At a more personal level, those in positions to be mentors might give more thought to making sure students from underprivileged backgrounds have the guidance needed to follow them in their career paths. The more each of us does to help boys and girls from different backgrounds achieve their innovative potential, the more it will spur innovation and economic growth for us all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89126/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Van Reenen receives funding from European Research Council, Sloan Foundation, ESRC</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Bell, Raj Chetty, and Xavier Jaravel do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new analysis shows how family background influences who grows up to invent. The key to turning things around? Expose kids to more inventors.Alexander Bell, PhD Candidate, Economics, Harvard UniversityJohn Van Reenen, Professsor of Applied Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)Raj Chetty, Professor of Economics, Stanford UniversityXavier Jaravel, Assistant Professor of Economics, London School of Economics and Political ScienceLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/707632017-02-03T16:50:00Z2017-02-03T16:50:00ZTo get more women in STEM little girls need better role models<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155439/original/image-20170203-14020-was0g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/568197235?size=huge_jpg">Photographee.eu/www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I recently went to my great-niece Sophie’s fourth birthday party, where her friends – both boys and girls –- ran around without a hint of prejudice or discrimination. They were equals.</p>
<p>It occurred to me how this idyll of equality disappears as boys and girls grow into adulthood. If things stay as they are, they will be hugely divided in terms of careers. This is still a world that conditions girls to think they are not as able as boys when it comes to certain things – particularly science, technology, engineering and maths. </p>
<p>In the past 40 years, <a href="https://www.bl.uk/sisterhood/articles/equal-pay-and-equality-legislation">nothing has changed</a> in the UK regarding equal pay for women – and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/may/18/uk-has-one-of-worst-records-for-gender-equality-at-work-report">there is still gender discrimination</a>. If the situation stays the same, in 20 years’ time girls in the UK like Sophie will earn <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/mar/07/gender-pay-gap-uk-women-earn-300000-less-men-lifetime">around 20% less than boys</a> in the same year group. She will have less chance of reaching a senior level and being promoted. She will be further disadvantaged if she chooses <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-todays-long-stem-postdoc-positions-are-effectively-anti-mother-51550">to become a mother</a>; and will be less likely to achieve a high salary <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/women-are-less-likely-to-get-promoted-2015-10">or promotion</a>.</p>
<p>In the UK, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38364076">just 8.5%</a> of those that study an A-Level in computer science are female. But when girls study science, technology, engineering or maths at GCSE level, they <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/11364130/Girls-do-better-than-boys-at-school-despite-inequality.html">actually do better than boys</a>. Computing and ICT are subjects in which the attainment advantage of girls over boys <a href="http://www.jcq.org.uk/Download/examination-results/gcses/2014/gcse-full-course-results-by-age-group-2014">is noticeably increasing</a> – so why aren’t there more women working in these industries?</p>
<h2>Teaching diversity</h2>
<p>Reports show we have a “<a href="https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=13&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjvjs3o0_PRAhVlAsAKHUmJBWIQFghVMAw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Feducation%2Feducationopinion%2F10637941%2FThe-leaky-pipeline-of-women-in-science.html&usg=AFQjCNGpDX7qtCdYcqnZZiRE4_N6a85aYg">leaky pipeline</a>” when it comes to women following STEM careers. More girls than boys are studying <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/jan/05/gender-gap-uk-degree-subjects-doubles-eight-years-ucas-study">science at degree level</a>, but this huge pool of female talent <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2015/jun/13/how-well-are-women-represented-in-uk-science">gets smaller as careers progress</a>.</p>
<p>The UK workforce is made up of 45% women, but when you look at STEM careers only around <a href="https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/uploads/wise/files/WISE_UK_Statistics_2014.pdf">10% of women are managers</a>; only 10% of STEM businesses are <a href="https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/uploads/wise/files/WISE_UK_Statistics_2014.pdf">owned by women</a>, and the FTSE 100 shows that only <a href="https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/uploads/wise/files/WISE_UK_Statistics_2014.pdf">13% of board members</a> are women. Just <a href="http://en.unesco.org/news/just-30-world%E2%80%99s-researchers-are-women-whats-situation-your-country">30% of the world’s researchers are women</a> too. </p>
<p>These stats might go someway to explain why women in developed countries still <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/aug/23/gender-pay-gap-average-18-per-cent-less-uk-women">earn at least 15%</a> less than their male counterparts. Incredibly, studies have shown that having the same amount of women as men now working in STEM areas in the UK alone <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/456420/DfE_WBC_Two_years_on_report_update_AW_CC.pdf">would add £2bn to the country’s economy</a>.</p>
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<p>The time is ripe for a change, but this is not just about encouraging girls to pursue a STEM career, we need a change in working cultures – and attitudes at the earliest stages of education. Many girls make their career choices by the time they are 14, so positive action must begin at primary school level. When girls are making critical decisions about their careers, mentoring schemes and proper career advice and guidance is vitally important. </p>
<p>Even now, the attitude that boys are “good” at maths and sciences is still too prevalent in some schools. Girls must be encouraged from a very early age, and told that they can excel at every stage. After all, even the smallest interactions can harm the cause: research has shown that fewer female STEM students <a href="http://www.womeninstem.co.uk/support/women-need-to-know-they-can-reach-their-potential">recall interaction with employers</a> at careers events and during school talks and workshops.</p>
<h2>Role models</h2>
<p>In a <a href="http://gov.wales/docs/det/report/160308-women-in-science-en.pdf">report for the Welsh Government</a>, I, with my Cardiff University colleague Professor Karen Holford, wrote of the various ways that more women could be encouraged into STEM careers. But for me, one thing truly stands out: we need heroes.</p>
<p>If we show girls and young women <a href="https://theconversation.com/ada-lovelace-blazed-a-trail-in-science-we-need-more-women-to-follow-in-her-footsteps-66661">what others have achieved</a> before them, and how women now and throughout history <a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/53186/15-women-who-have-won-science-nobel-prizes-marie-curie">have changed the world</a>, we can inspire them to pursue a STEM career. </p>
<p>Organisations such as WISE, Women in STEM, Soapbox Science and the British Science Association do excellent work in promoting STEM and fostering equality and diversity, as do individual universities in their own right. But to have a face, a name, or even a short biography to aspire to, could change a young girls’ world.</p>
<p>Many of us working in STEM subjects are trying hard to encourage others into the field, taking on leadership positions and trying hard to inspire our fellow and future scientists. This is not just about women giving a helping hand to other women – change requires for men to buy into the project. After all, this is not a problem for women to solve, it is one that the whole of society must address – and having a male viewpoint can only strengthen the equality aim.</p>
<p>When I go to Sophie’s next birthday party, I want to look at those boys and girls playing together and feel reassured that they will all have the same opportunities growing up; that they won’t face discrimination or setbacks in achieving their dreams. </p>
<p>We can create a society where girls contribute equally to building a better world – and the best thing is, it’s not even that hard to do.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70763/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hilary Lappin-Scott does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Targets and initiatives are a start but both men and women already in the field need to offer a helping hand.Hilary Lappin-Scott, Senior Pro Vice-Chancellor, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/597262016-06-09T01:52:37Z2016-06-09T01:52:37ZAre some students more at risk of assault on campuses?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125773/original/image-20160608-3516-ouqmp1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Who is more at risk of assault on campus?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pennstatelive/9032657005/in/photolist-eLbJeB-edmejy-ieKABP-eavRfN-8xbeR1-oUoY8a-qqQuoP-gK2NT2-edmhfo-egXTi4-egveDL-fyk2Kz-8xb3pX-p9t2tQ-ebwXDM-8xCPoS-eanEMs-h5HSoV-8xe4NC-G9pfPt-gtMj2z-8xe4DA-fJvnQv-ehxKqT-8xcG86-nVwRNT-rZmaBT-oY5fc9-CPjh7J-eavLiA-eP9vCV-e6FBmM-oDFwCe-8xCz7f-o2T42n-egvso7-hsSwkj-qhsfxT-eEQpPj-e2Jpo1-eavY3U-ngFAbd-padWnE-e6FypF-nA3FJq-sa3sZh-eahs6Z-8VpVzp-eeaUiS-hsTTcC">Penn State</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When students come to pursue their educational interests, they believe they are entering a safe environment. But while colleges are thought of as “ivory towers,” they can also be places where students could become victims of a crime.</p>
<p>In my research on victims of crime, I have found that particular types of students are more exposed to risks in a college environment. The risks are often tied to the party culture endemic on college campuses, where alcohol consumption is a major feature. </p>
<h2>Who is on campus</h2>
<p>Often these students choose to enroll in universities in the U.S. for a quality education or to be able to <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/11/18/456353089/u-s-colleges-see-a-big-bump-in-international-students">pursue the major and career path</a> of their choice. </p>
<p>For almost all young people, this is the first time that they are away from home, responsible for themselves, without adult supervision and an abundance of unstructured time. Part of college culture involves spending time at parties and bars, recreational drug use and engaging in other risky behaviors (e.g., binge drinking, hooking up).</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125775/original/image-20160608-3506-vxui0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125775/original/image-20160608-3506-vxui0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125775/original/image-20160608-3506-vxui0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125775/original/image-20160608-3506-vxui0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125775/original/image-20160608-3506-vxui0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125775/original/image-20160608-3506-vxui0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125775/original/image-20160608-3506-vxui0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Alcohol consumption exposes students to risks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/codnewsroom/14992312948/in/photolist-oQPwjh-7LXzaG-oQPwZq-4Yo6S-dNC5q9-26qyPH-oQPcvC-bMrRJF-7yJGFA-9j2pms-6XXG3F-dkjCfY-fviEZ7-p85foa-5eRnmr-7xEjtw-6acG1t-bUEb7C-2ph39M-2ppg84-nVKS4d-oQPz5N-2RJiJa-oQPxcu-p8iQ1e-p6gRG7-p8gUcS-p6gRmC-7KheKR-5tU5yC-p6gLSh-p6gRqA-7xPwQ2-p6gLVo-p8gXcu-7AXDDC-p8gVLU-p6gQw1-p8gWwb-oQNFyx-p83md6-7LTBeM-Kzbc9-p83nYF-oQPDmn-p8iL3z-oQPyBo-oQP8L3-p8iQaT-p8iLjM">COD Newsroom</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Alcohol consumption becomes a major feature of such activities. Data indicate that about <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1615519/pdf/amjph00445-0027.pdf">65 percent of college students</a> consume alcohol in a given month, and less than half of college students <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3908712/">engage in binge drinking</a>. </p>
<p>Research shows that such behaviors <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00380237.2000.10571174">increase the likelihood</a> of being a crime victim. </p>
<p>Drinking alcohol can increase the chances of being a crime victim because <a href="http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/media/journal/118-abbey.pdf">alcohol use impairs</a> judgment and perception, decreases the ability to recognize and react to risk, impairs decision-making and delays reaction time.</p>
<h2>Are all college students at risk?</h2>
<p>Research shows about a third of college students could be <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1998.tb01262.x/epdf">victims of a crime during a given year</a>. However, the risks could be different for different ethnic and racial groups on campus.</p>
<p>For example, there could be a higher risk for some groups such as non-Hispanic white men. This group faces the <a href="http://bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/vvcs02.pdf">highest risk</a> – most likely a <a href="http://www.jsad.com/doi/pdf/10.15288/jsa.2004.65.115">result of participation</a> in the <a href="http://homepages.wmich.edu/%7Ejbrusk/racealcoholbehavior.pdf">party culture</a>. White, male college students drink alcohol at greater levels and engage in more risky drinking than do female or African-American college students. </p>
<p>But there is a small percentage of international students who come to American campuses as well. In 2015, there were 1.13 million international college students enrolled in the U.S., with the <a href="http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2014/11/17/number-of-international-college-students-continues-to-climb">largest percentage</a> coming from China.</p>
<p>What is the risk international students face of being a victim?</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125776/original/image-20160608-3513-134mwzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125776/original/image-20160608-3513-134mwzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125776/original/image-20160608-3513-134mwzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125776/original/image-20160608-3513-134mwzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125776/original/image-20160608-3513-134mwzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125776/original/image-20160608-3513-134mwzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125776/original/image-20160608-3513-134mwzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">International students face lower risks of assault.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ifesworld/8361481160/in/photolist-dJSM3h-afd7qS-dErCkz-dEx1UU-5B3A2R-9NJybd-afajcg-9M2DUT-ea1YLg-dErCvX-7kpqom-afd6ZN-8SxTyh-bbPsw2-bttEaU-afajuB-9NH9LR-afd6YJ-nTHoFR-9chSab-p6vQv5-7bBNoe-9NJAiA-2SZ3Ju-46uZse-n1TaXZ-r9aZeQ-576zTv-afd6X7-9NF1UU-afd6Zh-dYDAdY-boiid3-9LPBnH-afd6YU-9NBTQp-9bzhff-5B3zPg-6fSXcE-afajiX-bEBEhc-oTKMju-qU3xbM-diJrSR-5B7R3Q-9R9FtS-afaiTB-nJKaaL-6fSSyE-6fNEBM">IFES - International Fellowship of Evangelical Students Follow</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Our research explored this possibility, given that international students may have unique experiences before and while attending college in the U.S.</p>
<p>Our study used data from the Fall 2012 American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment II. <a href="http://www.acha-ncha.org/docs/ACHA-NCHA-II_ReferenceGroup_ExecutiveSUmmary_Fall2012.pdf">This study</a> is a national survey of college students that is done in the fall and spring. Our study sample included 26,012 students, 8.6 percent of whom were international students.</p>
<p>We found that overall, when asked about their experiences from the previous 12 months, international students were less likely to be “violently victimized” – that is, physically assaulted and/or verbally threatened – compared to domestic students. A physical assault might include being hit, punched, kicked, bitten or even shot, while a verbal threat might be experienced when a person is told that he or she is going to get beaten up or is going to be shot. </p>
<p>Nineteen percent of domestic students in our study indicated that they had been physically assaulted or verbally threatened, compared to 17 percent of international students.</p>
<h2>Female international students are safer?</h2>
<p>Subsequently, we looked at differences in risk for male and female international college students. We found that male international students were less likely to be victims of a crime, and so were international female students.</p>
<p>Our study found 22 percent of male international students had been assaulted or threatened, compared with 26 percent of male domestic students. Fourteen percent of female international students had been assaulted or threatened, while 16 percent of female domestic students faced these experiences. </p>
<p>These differences may seem small, and in magnitude, they are. But, we used a large sample of over 26,000 students, which leads us to feel confident that our findings are unlikely to be a result of a problem with our sample. Also, when you consider how many students attend college, a two percent difference (such as what we found between female international students and female domestic students in their risk) could be tens or hundreds of thousands of students. </p>
<p>In an additional set of analyses, we included other factors that previous research has shown to be related to risk on campus, such as alcohol consumption and being a first-year college student. We found that female international students faced fewer risks than did female domestic students. In fact, female international students’ odds of being harmed were 14 percent lower than female domestic students. </p>
<p>And why might this be the case? We found that female international students tended to have a less risky profile than their domestic student counterparts – they binge-drank less, were less likely to use drugs, were less likely to be a first-year undergraduate and were less likely to have a disability. </p>
<p>While there are still some unanswered questions, we believe there must be something unique about how female international students experience college. It is possible that female international students may not be fully engaging in college life. It is possible they might be under <a href="http://jsi.sagepub.com/content/12/2/181.full.pdf+html">increased levels of guardianship</a> or they may experience <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2005-04428-005">culture conflict</a>.</p>
<p>Colleges should work to ensure that international students are a thriving part of the campus community while ensuring that they remain safe. Colleges should also provide culturally sensitive victim responses to international students.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59726/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leah Daigle receives funding from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council of Georgia to perform research on the civil legal needs of crime victims in Georgia. </span></em></p>In 2015, an unconscious woman was raped near a dumpster on Stanford University campus. Such assaults are not uncommon. But who is most at risk?Leah Daigle, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.