Gender stereotypes that associate science with men are often automatic and resistant to change. Although exposure to counter-stereotypical role models can shift these beliefs, such interventions typically rely on observation, and their effects are often short-lived, possibly because role models feel psychologically distant.

To address this limitation, we leverage immersive virtual reality to shift people from observers into actors in counter-stereotypical roles, engaging psychological mechanisms less accessible through traditional observational approaches. In a longitudinal experiment, participants embodied either a famous female scientist (Marie Curie), a famous male scientist (Albert Einstein), or a gender-matched control avatar and completed an implicit gender–science association test before the experience, immediately after, and one week later.

Embodying Marie Curie produced a sustained reduction in automatic associations linking science to men, an effect primarily driven by women. Men, however, responded differently, and bias reduction emerged instead in a non-threatening control embodiment. These findings suggest that deeply ingrained beliefs can shift through self-relevant first-person experiences and highlight that bias-reduction interventions operate differently across social groups (Beneda*, Spielmann*, Ramadhan Alahmadi, Banakou, & Vial, under review). 

Image depicts a woman wearing a VR headset with outstretched hands. Photo by fauxels 

Workplaces characterized by strong masculinity norms, or Masculinity Contest Cultures (MCC), privilege identities aligned with hegemonic masculinity—typically straight White men—while devaluing marginalized groups. This research examines how MCC shapes perceptions of social status across gender, race, and sexual orientation, and how these perceptions influence individuals’ organizational attraction, particularly for members of socially devalued groups.

Across five preregistered experiments (N = 2,682), we found that MCC devalues marginalized identities, leading to a lower personal sense of status and reduced organizational attraction among women, men of color, and gay men, but not straight White men. Enhancing the perceived status of women and Black men mitigated the negative effects of MCC on their organizational attraction, highlighting the role of status perceptions in shaping workplace engagement. These findings emphasize the exclusionary effects of MCC and how MCCs amplify status hierarchies. This undermines diversity by reinforcing status hierarchies, and underscore the importance of inclusive norms to attract and retain talent from diverse backgrounds (Vial & Spielmann, in prep).

Image depicts a Black man and a woman wearing a hijab tugging on a rope; by Edmond Dantès

Globally, women are underrepresented in STEM relative to men. However, there is considerable cross-regional variability in these gaps, and the reasons for it are poorly understood. Notably, women are much better represented in STEM education in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) compared to other parts of the world, even when the region is believed to be characterized by gender inequality and conservative gender attitudes. Based on Western social psychological theories, women should be especially underrepresented in the MENA region—yet, the statistics defy such expectations. 

To illuminate this paradox, my collaborators and I conducted a preregistered systematic literature review and supplementary meta-analysis integrating 147 articles from the MENA region that examined gender differences in psychological variables relevant to STEM engagement. Our findings provide bottom-up empirical evidence of a stark departure from well-documented Western patterns of gender differences. In the MENA region, women (vs. men) report greater motivation, more positive expectancies and attitudes, and lower anxiety toward STEM. We propose new directions for theory and research to better understand global variability in gender gaps in STEM engagement (Vial*, Spielmann*, & Cimpian, under review). 

Image depicts a circular restroom sign divided into two halves, with a male figure icon on the left and a female figure icon on the right; by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash