– Only girls who learned about gender discrimination showed increases in science self-efficacy and belief in the value of science; interest in scientific fields was unaffected by the intervention programs.
– Although girls in the standard condition were exposed to female scientists (as were girls in the discrimination condition), the sessions led by these women did not explicitly address the underrepresentation of women in scientific careers or the rationale for targeting the EYH intervention at girls but not boys. This omission may have left girls in this condition believing that men are more adept at science than women.
– Exposure to the information about discrimination may have led girls to reinterpret past negative feedback, both about their group’s performance and their own performance in science.
– Highlighting the accomplishments of famous and important women in science may have emphasized the important and worthwhile discoveries of scientists in the field. However, the authors also believe that exposure to information about women who have struggled to become scientists and contributed to the field despite being the victims of gender discrimination served to increase girls’ own belief that science is an important and worthwhile subject of study.