STEM Pathways in a Global Online Course: Are Male and Female Learners Motivated the Same?

Promoting diversity and equity in STEM requires ongoing assessment of progress in addressing gender disparities. Historically, women have faced challenges such as a lower sense of belonging and reduced persistence in STEM higher education. Prior research found robust correlations between a sense of belonging and STEM persistence and suggests intervention focusing on cultivating women's belonging to increase their persistence interest. We ask whether these gender gaps persist amongst motivated STEM learners, and whether we find men and women motivated by the same reasons in a global online learning community. We found that while women reported lower average sense of belonging to their field of study, their sense of identity with STEM is stronger than men. Our findings suggest no gender differences in persistence intent, but two key factors: sense of belonging and field identity were significant predictors of STEM persistence intent, with stronger coefficients from sense of belonging observed for both men and women. Notably, self-efficacy was an additional predictor of STEM intent only for women, even though women reported lower self-efficacy than men. These findings allow us to understand the nuances of different contributing factors to learners' interest in pursuing STEM. With such understanding, it allows us to more effectively strategize how to leverage AI in a scaled learning environment to promote equitable learning. We discussed the implications for fostering an equitable learning environment and supporting an international STEM community.