One university boosted gender diversity in advanced maths by over 30% in 5 years – here’s how

As the artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing industries explode, trained STEM professionals are in high demand. Mathematics is foundational to these fields.

But mathematics is missing an important ingredient: people who are female or gender-diverse.

In New South Wales, for example, only one-third of high school graduates who complete mathematics at the highest level are female or gender-diverse. And when students choose university courses in December, a large proportion of these highly qualified people will step away from mathematics and STEM.

Australia cannot stay competitive by only accessing half of its young talent. By leaving mathematics early, young women and gender-diverse people limit their own career opportunities. Worse, the new technologies resulting from the current revolutions may not serve broader society well, if women and gender-diverse people are not involved in their development.

But at the University of Sydney over the past five years we have run a successful pilot program to reverse this trend – and to empower young women to make informed career choices. Better, the program is cheap to run and can be easily adopted elsewhere so mathematics – and the many industries it underpins – can be more diverse in ways that benefit everyone, regardless of their gender.

Declining enrolments

Before 2020, female and gender-diverse enrolments in advanced mathematics at the University of Sydney were in decline.

In 2020 the incoming cohort was nearly 80% male. Non-STEM directions offer attractive and important career options, and some movement between specialisations is expected. But a nosedive from 35% female students at the end of high school to 22% at the start of university indicates a problem.

Over five years, a team I lead piloted an intervention which has increased the ratio of female and gender-diverse students in advanced first-year mathematics from 22% to 30% – nearly back to the high school levels.

Our program consists of two components:

1. information, personalised invitations, and enrolment advice for incoming female and gender-diverse students, and

2. a mentoring program for female and gender-diverse students who enrol in advanced mathematics.

Targeting the problem from year one

Before the start of semester, we compare first year enrolments with students’ high school certificates and majors. Like in high school, mathematics at the university is offered at multiple parallel levels.

When students are enrolled at a lower level than their background and major would justify, we send personalised emails encouraging them to switch to the advanced level. We hold a welcome event and multiple drop-in sessions, offering tailored advice.

In the mentoring program we match female and gender diverse advanced maths students with groups of eight to twelve peers of mixed year levels. Matching is based on timetables.

Each group is mentored by a senior (Honours or PhD) student, and an academic – at least one of whom is female or gender-diverse. Student mentors bring invaluable insight to the program, as they had walked in the mentees’ shoes only a few years before.

Each year 50–80 students participate in the program, roughly two-thirds of whom are first-year students.

Mentoring groups meet weekly for an hour: sometimes with both mentors, sometimes with the student mentor alone. Meeting topics are loosely structured around academic advice and sharing experiences.

Many groups develop their own agendas organically. The program does not focus on tutoring, though students enjoy discussing key mathematical techniques and concepts.

Fostering community and belonging

At the heart of the program is the opportunity to build community with peers, away from the pressure of assessments. While student feedback on the program is overall enthusiastic, it is a puzzle to maintain engagement with mentoring as semesters get hectic. It is difficult for students to prioritise community building when marks are on the line elsewhere.

We suspected the large drop in female and gender diverse enrolments at the transition to university is at least partly explained by these students’ lack of confidence in their mathematical abilities.

Research shows such insecurities disproportionately affect women. General messaging is ineffective in the face of self-doubt, so we aimed for a personalised but scalable approach.

The mentoring component fosters community and belonging. This combats isolation, provides ongoing support and enables long-term retention.

A low-cost solution

Our program is a low-cost solution that can be implemented in most academic contexts.

The first year of university is a place to start, but it is too late to fully address Australia’s pipeline problem. We can’t expect to have women and gender-diverse students participating in STEM at university in higher numbers than they did at the end of high school.

Similar programs could be put in place in high schools, and personal invitations can even be used to bring more girls to elementary school enrichment programs. This would help boost diverse and equitable participation in STEM from the roots.