Specialised cultures in the technical sciences - fiMINT culture
Measures to change male-dominated specialist cultures in favour of gender- and diversity-oriented change processes
Another approach to reducing the underrepresentation of women in technical degree programmes and attracting more young women to these courses is to look at the specialist cultures in engineering and computer science from an equality and gender perspective. The fiMINT-culture project launched in 2020 takes this approach.
Previous strategies for more women in STEM are primarily aimed at personal support programmes, whereby the measures only relate to the individual and not to a structural level. It is the girls and young women who are expected to adapt.
fiMINT culture, on the other hand, aims to change the specialised cultures in the technical sciences. Subject cultures have grown historically over many years and have been internalised to a high degree by their members. Representatives of these disciplines develop a specific habitus which, as the sociologist Bourdieu describes it, is expressed in behaviour and attitudes, but also in thinking and problem-solving methods. This habitus, anchored in the specialised cultures, can exclude individuals or groups. The specialised cultures of the technical sciences in particular are strongly male-dominated in their habitus and therefore not very attractive for women. A change towards a gender-orientated subject culture requires critical (self-)reflection and an awareness of the responsibility of one's own role as a teacher and the university.
Another key aspect of this project is an improved, gender-sensitive approach to schoolgirls and young women as well as other groups of people who have not yet been able or willing to choose a technical degree programme. This includes targeted public relations work. In addition to addressing these groups, teaching in engineering and computer science degree programmes should also follow the scientific findings of gender and diversity studies and the "hidden curriculum", which is usually an integral part of a traditional subject culture, should be questioned. Gender-appropriate didactics and subject content that is also relevant to the lives of women, establishes an application reference and demonstrates the social benefits and interdisciplinarity of a subject are promising approaches.
As part of the STEM 4 TU strategy, fiMINT-Kultur is changing its perspective and pursuing new approaches, at least for TU Braunschweig. These should also be taken into account in the other defined fields of action, as this is the only way to achieve a change in subject cultures. The Projectreport 2021/2022 also picks up on these ideas and shows initial results.