Speaker:	Takumi Yada (University of Jyväskylä)
Title:	Masculinity in the Public Image of IT: A New Model Integrating Social Dimensions in Japan
Date (JST):	Mon, Jul 06, 2026, 14:00 - 15:00
Place:	Seminar Room A
Abstract:	This presentation examines the masculine image of the IT field and its associated factors as a structural barrier to gender equity in STEM education in Japan. With a huge amount of a projected shortage of IT professionals by 2030, addressing the persistent underrepresentation of women in IT is both an educational and a policy imperative. Drawing on datasets comprising 948 university students, the study employs multi-group structural equation modeling to identify and validate key constructs, including masculine culture in IT, early IT experiences, self-efficacy, and the social climate surrounding gender, and to examine how these factors operate differently among STEM and non-STEM students. The results highlight the role of masculine stereotypes (masculine culture in IT), role model availability (masculine culture in IT), and gender beliefs (social climate surrounding gender) in shaping students’ perceptions of IT as a male domain. The presentation argues that dismantling these perceptions requires not only individual-level interventions but structural change in educational environments and institutional and societal culture.

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