Online Learning Platform Finds What It Calls a “Gender Confidence Gap” in STEM Fields

Piazza is a collaborative social learning platform used by about 700,000 college students each year. Students can ask questions and seek help from classmates by using the platform. A new study of 976,000 students in the U.S. and Canada during four recent semesters found that women students in STEM fields asked more questions on the platform than their male counterparts. But women were more likely than men to ask questions anonymously.

The study also found that women in computer science courses answered 37 percent fewer questions than men. In other STEM fields, women answered 18 percent fewer questions. Once again, women were more likely than men to answer questions anonymously.

The study found that the gender gap in participation in give-and-take on the Piazza platform grows as students move into more advanced coursework. The gender gap is also larger at top-tier colleges and universities than at lower-ranked schools.

The study also found that the gender gap in participation was prevalent but much smaller in non-STEM disciplines.