Mental health of women in stem: Influences of career barriers and support

Abstract

When we consider women’s insertion in areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), social patterns marked by gender inequality might produce psychological suffering. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the relationship between perceived barriers and support in career and the prevalence of symptoms of depression and anxiety, comparing women in STEM and non-STEM careers. Participated in the study 141 Brazilian women, which completed an online survey comprising the General Health Questionnaire, Career Support Questionnaire and Career Barriers Inventory. Results indicated that the higher the perceived barriers in career, the higher the anxiety and depression rates, with an opposing relationship when support perception was considered. All regression coefficients were higher for the women in the STEM group. We conclude that it is necessary to develop strategies and policies that favor women’s mental health and psychological well-being, as well as to offer an environment that provides social support and equal career opportunities for women in STEM.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.15448/1980-8623.2022.1.38473
PSICO
Psico, Porto Alegre, v. 53, n. 1, p. 1-12, jan.-dez. 2022
e-ISSN: 1980-8623 | ISSN-L: 0103-5371
1 Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU), Uberlândia, MG, Brasil.
Abstract:
When we consider women’s insertion in areas of Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), social patterns marked by gender inequality
might produce psychological suering. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the
relationship between perceived barriers and support in career and the prevalence
of symptoms of depression and anxiety, comparing women in STEM and non-
-STEM careers. Participated in the study 141 Brazilian women, which completed
an online survey comprising the General Health Questionnaire, Career Support
Questionnaire and Career Barriers Inventory. Results indicated that the higher the
perceived barriers in career, the higher the anxiety and depression rates, with an
opposing relationship when support perception was considered. All regression
coecients were higher for the women in the STEM group. We conclude that it
is necessary to develop strategies and policies that favor women’s mental health
and psychological well-being, as well as to oer an environment that provides
social support and equal career opportunities for women in STEM.
Keywords: women, career, barriers, support, anxiety, depression
Resumo: Quando consideramos a inserção das mulheres nas áreas de ciência,
tecnologia, engenharia e matemática (STEM), os padrões sociais marcados pela
desigualdade de gênero podem produzir sofrimento psicológico. Portanto, este
estudo teve como objetivo analisar a relação entre barreiras percebidas e apoio
na carreira e a prevalência de sintomas de depressão e ansiedade, comparando
mulheres em carreiras STEM e não-STEM. Participaram do estudo 141 mulheres
brasileiras, que responderam a uma pesquisa on-line composta pelo Questionário
Geral de Saúde, Questionário de Suporte de Carreira e Inventário de Barreiras
de Carreira. Os resultados indicaram que quanto maiores as barreiras percebi-
das na carreira, maiores as taxas de ansiedade e depressão, com uma relação
oposta quando a percepção de suporte foi considerada. Todos os coecientes
foram maiores para as mulheres no grupo STEM. Concluímos que é necessário
desenvolver estratégias e políticas que favoreçam a saúde mental e o bem-estar
psicológico das mulheres, bem como oferecer um ambiente que forneça suporte
social e oportunidades iguais de carreira para as mulheres em STEM.
Palavras-chave: mulheres, carreira, barreiras, suporte, ansiedade, depressão
Resumen: Cuando consideramos la inserción de las mujeres en áreas de Ciencia,
Tecnología, Ingeniería y Matemáticas (STEM), los patrones sociales marcados
por la desigualdad de género pueden producir sufrimiento psicológico. Por lo
tanto, este estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar la relación entre las barreras
percibidas y el apoyo en la carrera y la prevalencia de síntomas de depresión y
ansiedad, comparando a las mujeres en carreras STEM y no STEM. Participaron
en el estudio 141 mujeres brasileñas, que completaron una encuesta en línea
que comprende el Cuestionario de Salud General, el Cuestionario de Apoyo
Profesional y el Inventario de Barreras Profesionales. Los resultados indicaron
SEÇÃO: ARTIGO
Mental health of women in stem: influences of career barriers
and support
Saúde mental de mulheres em stem: influências de barreiras e suporte na carreira
Salud mental de las mujeres en stem: influencias de barreras y apoyo profesional
Ligia Carolina Oliveira-
Silva1
orcid.org/0000-0002-7487-9420
ligiacarol@ufu.br
Maria Clara Cardoso de
Lima1
orcid.org/0000-0001-5847-221X
mariaclara.cardosolima@hotmail.
com
Received on: Jun. 14, 2020.
Approved on: Out. 13, 2021.
Published on: 21 out. 2022.

2/12 Psico, Porto Alegre, v. 53, n. 1, p. 1-12, jan.-dez. 2022 | e-38473
que cuanto mayores son las barreras percibidas en la
carrera, mayores son las tasas de ansiedad y depresión,
con una relación opuesta cuando se considera la per-
cepción de apoyo. Todos los coecientes de regresión
fueron mayores para las mujeres en el grupo STEM.
Concluimos que es necesario desarrollar estrategias y
políticas que favorezcan la salud mental y el bienestar
psicológico de las mujeres, así como ofrecer un entorno
que brinde apoyo social e igualdad de oportunidades
profesionales para las mujeres en STEM.
Palabras clave:
mujeres, carrera, barreras, apoyo,
ansiedad, depresión
In latest years, there has been an increase of
women, mainly white and middle class, occupying
places within universities and labor market in
developed and developing countries (Davidson
& Burke, 2004). Nevertheless, recent data from
the International Labor Organization (ILO - 2018)
has shown that, on a global scale, approximately
75% of men are inserted in the labor market, while
only 48% of women are part of this reality. In Latin
American countries, male participation in the
labor market is 77%, while female participation
is 51% (ILO - 2018). Even though Brazilian women
constitute the majority of undergraduate students
(55,2% - National Institute of Studies and Rese-
arch - INEP, 2019), only 43% of them are inserted
in the labor market (ILO, 2018).
These data evidence how gender dierences
are still present in work contexts, reecting not
only the percentage of occupation, but also in-
come and hierarchical aspects. Regarding salary,
data show that women still receive about 23% less
than men, besides holding only 37% of manage-
rial positions (World Bank Group, 2018). In Brazil,
women receive less, have double or even triple
working hours, are in lower numbers in leadership
positions and in politics, in addition to exercising
the most devalued professions (Ministério da Saú-
de, 2011). Double shifts, for instance, intensify the
impact of conicts between work and family (Feijó
et al., 2017). Therefore, it is necessary to analyze
women’s mental health, since they experience
conditions marked by unequal opportunities,
especially at work.
The scenario is aggravated when we consider
the female insertion in areas of Science, Techno-
logy, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), in
which women represent only 35% of all students
(Unesco, 2018). In these elds, social patterns
marked by stereotyping and sexism might pro-
duce psychological suering, therefore it is not
a surprise when job and family demands are
linked to more mental illnesses in women (Carr,
1997). Considering this context, the importan-
ce of investigating women’s mental health as
a consequence of their careers is highlighted.
With regard to predominantly male areas, such
dierences might be accentuated, reinforcing the
sexual division of labor. Hence, this study aims to
compare women in STEM and non-STEM elds,
analyzing the extent to which their barriers and
support perceptions foster anxiety and depres-
sion symptoms.
Women in STEM
When considering the existing gender die-
rences in STEM elds, it is clear that the entry
of women is lower than men’s. According to the
American Community Survey (ACS, 2015), women
constituted only 25% of all STEM workers with
university degrees (Noonan, 2017). Even with
higher levels of education, women are still less
likely to get a job in STEM, despite the indicative
that education level seems to be related to the
employability probability in STEM elds (IBGE,
2018; Noonan, 2017).
A metaphor that illustrates the progressive
decrease of women in STEM careers is the “scis-
sor eect”, which occurs as women represent
higher percentages of presence in undergraduate
courses and in training stages, but gradually falls
over when it comes to most prominent positions
(Brito et al., 2015). Lack of condence and low
self-ecacy also contribute to move women
away from STEM (Falk et al., 2017), as the “leaky
pipeline” demonstrates how women, throughout
academic life, tend to give up certain areas due
to gender-related barriers (Buckles, 2019). The
“glass ceiling” metaphor, for instance, explains
the subtlety of barriers, sometimes almost trans-
parent but capable of breaking women advance,
contributing to stagnation of women at junior
levels (Bhojwani, 2020).

Ligia Carolina Oliveira-Silva • Maria Clara Cardoso de Lima
Mental health of women in stem: inuences of career barriers and support 3/12
Therefore, one of the critical needs of the
21st-century remain the recruitment, retention,
and graduation of women in STEM elds (Rahman
et al., 2020). A consensus among the studies is
that in STEM areas women face several barriers,
ranging from entering higher education to career
progress (Ridgeway, 2011). Given women’s evasion
in initial graduation stages, a research on the
mental health of engineering students eviden-
ced women’s diculties about being a minority,
feelings of loneliness, high competitiveness and
the need to prove their skills frequently (Deziel
et al., 2013).
There is also evidence of the emotional eects
of discrimination on women in works marked by
gender dierence, especially when combined
with other types of barriers. In Chowdhury and
Gibson (2019)’s study, participants pointed out
discrimination at work and sexism as promoters of
low self-condence and the feeling of not being
worthy. Further explanations for the scarcity of
women in STEM regard gender dierences in
job expectations, the role of gender ideology in
the notions of women and men about desirable
or viable jobs, dierences in long-term goals in
relation to family formation and the impact of
self-condence on educational and occupational
persistence (Cech et al., 2011).
On the other hand, there is evidence that ha-
ving a support structure is essential for women
to continue their careers and overcome barriers
to ascension (Fouad et al., 2011). In this sense, it
is necessary to better understand how perceiving
barriers and career support may contribute to
move away or maintain women in STEM, analyzing
its impacts in their mental health.
Perception of Barriers and Career
Support
When reecting on how individuals make pro-
fessional choices, it is expected that gender roles,
personal characteristics and family commitments
exert great inuence on people’s – and therefore
women’s – career choices (de Lima et al., 2017).
Previous studies indicate that when choosing their
careers, women take into account aspects such
as lack of support in career planning and family
responsibilities demands (Davey & Stoppard,
1993). In such direction, the Socio-Cognitive Ca-
reer Theory (SCCT) maps issues that can hinder
or contribute to career development, as well as
to understand how barriers inuence professional
interests, goals and choices (Lent et al., 2000).
Barriers and support perceptions become fun-
damental for understanding such theory (Fort
& Murariu, 2018), besides inuencing academic
trajectory and professional choices, which in turn
aect career development (Rai, 2004).
Barriers can be classied based on personal
factors (e.g. self-esteem, interests, outcome ex-
pectations, self-ecacy) and contextual (e.g. se-
xual discrimination, support, family relationships)
(Rai, 2004). There is evidence that women in
science careers, for example, experience con-
textual barriers such as sexual harassment, fa-
mily-work imbalance, gender stereotyping, salary
gap and unconscious bias, besides spending
more time in domestic responsibilities than their
counterparts (Carr et al., 2019). In Helwig’s (2004)
ten-year longitudinal survey, 87% of participants
declared to support women’s insertion in the
labor market. However, when mentioning the
existence of small children, only 15% stated that
women should work in such circumstances, which
reinforces the social role of women as mothers,
caregivers and housewives. Although concerns
such as workplace discrimination and children are
more present in women than in men (Swanson
& Tokar, 1991), women may be more engaged in
work as a way to compensate for the perceived
career barriers, in order not to compromise their
career development (Rai, 2004).
In contrast, career support involves family,
social and academic incentive, in addition to
nancial aid that women may have to choose a
career and throughout professional experience
(Lent et al., 2000). Similarly, social support is pre-
sent when one feels belonged and protected, and
may impact the development of mental disorders
and physical illnesses, as well as stress levels
(Ornelas, 1994). A recent study in the technology
eld show that social support positively inuences

4/12 Psico, Porto Alegre, v. 53, n. 1, p. 1-12, jan.-dez. 2022 | e-38473
individual’s self-ecacy and outcome results,
such that when this support comes from close
people, it boosts self-condence and obstacle
overcoming (Akbulut-Bailey, 2019).
As specic occupations and work activities
inuence people’s health and well-being, they
can be either a source of satisfaction or negati-
ve psychological eects, such as anxiety (Iqbal
& Yilmaz, 2014). The way that women perceive
career barriers, combined with work-family con-
ict, could raise levels of depression, such that
imbalances between professional and family
compromises represent a psychosocial risk factor,
which in turn may negatively inuence women’s
health and well-being (Guglielmi & Luppi, 2019).
Hence, there is indication to hypothesize that the
lack of support, combined with the perception of
more career barriers, could foster mental health
issues.
Depression and Anxiety in Work
Contexts
For analyzing mental health, this study selected
depressive and anxiety disorders due to their
high occurrence rate in people around the world
(World Health Organization - WHO, 2017). Appro-
ximately 300 million people were diagnosed with
depression in 2015, which represents 4.4% of the
world population (WHO, 2017). Between 2005
and 2015, the incidence of depression worldwide
increased by approximately 18%, and when com-
paring depression’s incidence between sexes, 8%
of women present depressive disorders, against
5.5% of men (WHO, 2017). Regarding Brazil, there
is a total of 11,548,577 people with depressive
disorder, corresponding to 5.8% of its population.
Depressive disorders comprise a set of cha-
racteristics that aect individual’s functioning,
including symptoms such as sadness, irritab-
le mood and somatic or cognitive oscillations,
varying in terms of duration and circumstances
in which they appear (American Psychiatric As-
sociation, 2014). Depression can be understood
by individuals’ own dysfunctional cognitions and
cognitive schemes, causing them to react to situ-
ations worse than they really would (Beck, 1963).
In addition, depressed patients may manifest
diculties in concentrating, low self-esteem and
self-condence, hopelessness, guilt, pessimistic
views, suicidal thoughts, insomnia and decreased
appetite (American Psychiatric Association, 2014).
Regarding anxiety, about 264 million of people,
equivalent to 3.6% of the world population, pre-
sent it in a pathological way, and again it is more
prevalent in women, whose incidence is 4.6%,
while in men this rate is 2.6% (WHO, 2017). In Brazil,
anxiety disorders are present in 18,657,943 people,
9.3% of its total population (WHO, 2017). Anxiety
represents a set of physiological responses such
as tachycardia, sweating, tremors, dizziness and
others, usually experienced in situations of dan-
ger or threat (American Psychiatric Association,
2014). It is seen as pathological when it manifests
in situations that usually are not threatening, ne-
gatively aecting the daily routine of people who
experience it (Angelotti, 2007). Besides taking into
account contextual factors, the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V)
considers that anxiety disorders characteristics
relate to fear in an excessive way, with behavioral
disturbances, being excessive and persistent
when they last for about six months or more
(American Psychiatric Association, 2014).
Reecting on anxiety and depression statistics
and understanding career as one of people’s
main spheres of life, it is crucial to analyze the
relationship between such disorders and career
aspects. There is still a lot of diculty in identi-
fying, diagnosing and establishing a direct and
clear relationship between mental disorder and
work. However, according to data from the Brazi-
lian Social Security, concessions rate for sickness
benets in cases of mental disorders due to
work has grown by 19.6%, and among the most
frequent are depressive and anxiety disorders
(Merlo et al., 2014).
Work situations that generate frustration and
disappointment are common, given the occurren-
ce of excessive demands, competition, threats of
job loss, dismissal and others that contribute to
the development of depressive episodes (Minis-
tério da Saúde, 2011). Regarding gender relations

Ligia Carolina Oliveira-Silva • Maria Clara Cardoso de Lima
Mental health of women in stem: inuences of career barriers and support 5/12
at work, harassment based on gender portrays
inequality, authoritarianism and asymmetry in
organizational relationships, placing women in
a situation of humiliation and embarrassment
(Merlo et al., 2014).
Although there is a growing body of research
on how women’s depression narratives draw upon
and are constituted by gender norms (Chowdhury
et al., 2019), studies investigating how depression
may aect women in STEM elds are scarce.
As an underrepresented group, these women
are often exposed to uncomfortable situations,
which may inuence the development of psy-
chological malaises. Evidence points to issues
related to the social pressure of being female,
diculties in reconciling work and family and
the need for fullling the roles of good mother,
wife and professional, such that single mothers
with higher degrees of education reported more
symptoms of anxiety (Walters, 1993). Furthermore,
the combination of high-performance culture
and gender discrimination imposes a greater
emotional tension on these women (Chowdhury
& Gibson, 2019).
In short, situations women face at work, es-
pecially in mostly male environments, may re-
present barriers that impact their mental health.
Perception of sexual discrimination, lack of su-
pport, family-work imbalance, double shift, low
representation and stereotypes could, in theory,
contribute to higher prevalence of depressive
symptoms or generate more anxiety. Thus, the
present research aimed to analyze how barriers
and career support perceptions inuence the oc-
currence of anxiogenic and depressive symptoms,
comparing women who are in predominantly
male careers with those who are not. Therefo-
re, the following hypotheses were investigated:
Hypothesis 1: There is a signicant and positive
relationship between perceived barriers and
depression symptoms; Hypothesis 2: There is
a signicant and positive relationship between
perceived barriers and anxiety symptoms; Hypo-
thesis 3: There is a signicant and negative rela-
tionship between social support and depression
symptoms; Hypothesis 4: There is a signicant
and negative relationship between social support
and anxiety symptoms; Hypothesis 5: There is a
dierence in the results of Hypotheses 1, 2, 3 and
4 depending on whether the participants’ career
eld is STEM or not.
Method
Participants
Research participants represented two groups,
the rst of women in STEM and the second, wo-
men in other careers. In both groups, participants
had at least a 6 months tenure. The sample in-
cluded 141 women, average of 29.2 years old (SD
= 8.4). Most were formally married, dating or in a
common-law marriage (52.5%), with no children
(75.9%), and were graduated, attending post-gra-
duation or already post-graduated (63.9%).
In total, 52.5% of the participants worked in
STEM and 47.5% in non-STEM careers. The ave-
rage time of work experience was 7.1 years (SD =
6.7). In order to classify groups into STEM and non-
-STEM, women’s current profession was aligned
with education eld, so that the STEM group only
had those who had graduated and were currently
working in the following areas: researchers and
scientists (university lecturers and professors, PhD
students, post-doctoral students, researchers
working in laboratories); technology professionals
(IT analysts and systems developers, from interns
to project leaders); engineering professionals
(from assistants and interns to management
levels within the various engineering elds, such
as civil, chemical, mechanical, electrical, mecha-
tronic and environmental). Women considered in
non-STEM careers were in the following elds:
health (doctors, nutritionists, nurses, speech
therapists, dentists, psychologists), administra-
tive/management (registration and collection,
administrative and/or nancial assistants and
managers, auditing, banking, secretaries, hu
-
man resources professionals), basic education
(elementary and high school teachers, school
supervisors) and other areas that did not t into
STEM (journalists, copywriters, communication
advisors, designers, traders, sales, artisans, ac-

6/12 Psico, Porto Alegre, v. 53, n. 1, p. 1-12, jan.-dez. 2022 | e-38473
tresses, event producers and non-professional
cooks). Also included in this group were women
who, perhaps, had STEM education but worked
in a dierent eld.
Measures
The form was composed by the General Health
Questionnaire (GHQ), the Career Support Ques-
tionnaire (CSQ) and the Career Barriers Inventory
(CBI-R). The General Health Questionnaire was
developed by Goldberg and Williams (1972), later
adapted for Brazil by Gouveia et al. (2003). It is
appropriate for rapid assessments about recent
and current psychological discomforts. The 12-
item model is widely used due to its practical and
easy application, with internal consistency above
0.80 (Gouveia et al., 2012). The questionnaire has
seven negative (e.g. Have you been feeling unha-
ppy and depressed?) and ve positive items (e.g.
Have you been able to make decisions?) regarding
mental health conditions. Answers to the negative
items vary from 1 = “Absolutely not” to 4 = “Much
more than usual”. In armative items, the answers
vary from 1 = “More than usual” to 4 = “Much less
than usual”. Responses for negative items were
reversed to follow the four-point scale, in which
the higher the total score, the better the level of
mental health (Gouveia et al., 2003).
The Career Barriers Inventory (CBI) was origi-
nally developed by Swanson, Daniels and Tokar
(1996), but the present study used the reduced
version of Rai (2004), entitled CBI-R, with 49
items. Answers for “How likely are you to encou-
nter this barrier in your future career?” range from
1 = Never to 7 = Always (Rai, 2004). However, in
the present study this question was adapted to
the past tense (How often have you encounte-
red this barrier throughout your career so far?),
since all participants were already working. The
questionnaire contemplates both external barriers
(perception of something that comes from social
relations) and internal barriers (perceptions about
oneself). By the time of this study, the CBI-R
still did not have an adapted version for Brazil.
Therefore, direct and reverse translations were
performed, according to procedures indicated for
translation of instruments (Sousa & Rojjanasrirat,
2011). Since the validity evidence research does
not represent the aim of this study, the translated
instrument was analyzed in relation to its main
psychometric properties. For the present sam-
ple, the general alpha was 0.94, higher than the
original instrument internal consistency, which
was equal to 0.77 (Rai, 2004).
The Career Support Questionnaire (CSQ) was
originally developed by Lent et al. (2000) and
also updated by Rai (2004). It measures people’s
perception about career support, evaluating
aspects such as social support and encourage-
ment, access to mentors and nancial resources.
Responses range from 1 = Never and 5 = Alwa-
ys, regarding items listed after the question: “In
your career path, how often do you encounter
or have encountered this type of support?”. In
order to reduce participant’s cognitive eort, the
scale was increased to 7 points to resemble the
CBI-R. As in the case of the CBI-R, there was no
Brazilian version of the CSQ until the moment of
the study, so the same translation procedure was
used. The adapted version of Rai (2004) with 13
items showed an internal consistency of 0.87 and
this exactly value was obtained for the present
sample, which reinforces CSQ’s reliability.
Procedures and data analysis
The data were collected through an online sur-
vey on Google Forms platform. On the rst page,
the Informed Consent Form (ICF) was presented,
exposing research goals, participants rights and
risks and benets of participation, besides assu-
ring condentiality and anonymity of provided
data. After agreeing to participate, people could
access the research form. The survey was disclo
-
sed in social networks such as women’s groups on
Facebook, as well as institutional and collective
Instagram proles. Data were analyzed using the
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS),
version 20.0. Central tendency and descriptive
analyzes were performed, as well as T-tests,
Pearson’s bivariate correlations and multiple
regressions. There were no missing cases, as the
digital form did not allow blank items.

Ligia Carolina Oliveira-Silva • Maria Clara Cardoso de Lima
Mental health of women in stem: inuences of career barriers and support 7/12
Results
Initially, sample descriptive statistics were
analyzed according to the created groups: a)
General sample; b) Women in STEM; c) Women in
Non-STEM. According to Table 1, the STEM group
(B) presented the highest averages in all variables.
Table 1 – Descriptive Statistics and correlations
Mean
(SD)
Anxiety Depression Barriers Support
ABC A BC A BC A BC A BC
1. 2.70
(0.69)
2.71
(0.64)
2.69
(0.75)
1 1 1
2. 2.44
(0.77)
2.47
(0.75)
2.41
(0.81)
.74** .76** .72** 1 1 1
3. 2.96
(1.00)
3.03
(1.11)
2.88
(0.88)
.43** .57** .28*.51** .64** .34** 1 1 1
4. 4.31
(1.16)
4.34
(1.21)
4.27
(1.11)
-.28** -.32** -.25*-.37** -.44** -.30*-.49** -.59** -.34*1 1 1
Note. A = General (N = 141); B = STEM group (N = 74); C = non-STEM group (N = 67); *p<0.05; **p<0.01;
***p<0.001
Results from T-test indicated that there were
no signicant dierences in the obtained means
regarding the two groups. Bivariate correlations
displayed in Table 1 pointed to signicant and
positive correlations between barriers perception
and anxiety and depression symptoms, with the
highest correlations in Group B (women in STEM),
and the lowest, in Group C (non-STEM). As for
perception of support, signicant and negative
correlations with anxiety and depression were
identied in the three groups, again with the
highest correlations coming from Group B and
the lowest, from Group C.
Results from regression analysis are displayed
in Figure 1, which indicates that all hypotheses
were corroborated, since both barriers and su-
pport perception predicted higher levels of anxie-
ty and depression. Considering Hypothesis 1, there
is a signicant (p<0.001) and positive (β=0.510)
relationship between barriers perception and de-
pression symptoms, with a large (R²= 0.26) eect
size (reference size eects according to Espírito
Santo & Daniel, 2017). Considering Hypothesis
2, there is a signicant (p<0.001) and positive
(β=0.434) relationship between barriers perception
and anxiety symptoms, with a medium (R²= 0.18)
eect size. For Hypothesis 3, there is a signicant
(p<0.001) and negative (β= - 0.375) relationship be-
tween perceived support and depression symp-
toms, also with a medium eect size (R²= 0.14).
For Hypothesis 4, there is a signicant (p<0.001)
and negative (β= - 0.285) relationship between
perceived support and anxiety symptoms, with
a low eect size (R²= 0.08). Finally, according to
Hypothesis 5, there are dierences in the results
of Hypotheses 1, 2, 3 and 4 depending on whether
the area of activity is predominantly male or not,
as shown in Figure 1, as regression coecients
were always higher for women in the STEM group.

8/12 Psico, Porto Alegre, v. 53, n. 1, p. 1-12, jan.-dez. 2022 | e-38473
Note. β^a= General (N = 141); β^b= STEM group (N = 74); β^c= non-STEM group (N = 67).
Note. Condence intervals for all relationships were between 95% and 99%.
Figure 1. Regression coecients for hypothesis testing
Discussion
Considering the results, it was observed that
perceived barriers and support signicantly pre
-
dict depression and anxiety symptoms in women,
with coecients varying according to occupatio-
nal area, which supports Hypotheses 1, 2, 3, 4 and
5. Results from descriptive statistics indicated
that women from the STEM group presented the
highest averages in all variables. Such results re-
late, for instance, to Poggesi et al.’s (2020) review,
which demonstrates that women in STEM careers
experience more individual and contextual gen-
der barriers. However, the fact that results from
T-tests showed no signicant average dierences
among groups may lead to the assumption that
all women are, somehow, aected by inequali-
ties such as double shifts, work-family conicts
(Feijó et al., 2017), devaluation at work and lower
occupation of leadership positions, which could
help to explain their higher rates of depression
and anxiety in comparison do men (WHO, 2017).
Regarding Hypotheses 1 and 2, they show
that women’s perceived career barriers predict
symptoms of depression and anxiety. Although
career barriers are commonly part of women’s
lives, excess of barriers may lead to feelings of
inadequacy, which in turn would aect mental
health. These feelings are less experienced by
men because as they become parents, they are
perceived as more reliable and stable, which
contributes to professional permanence and ad-
vance (Windsor & Auyeung, 2006). Women and
men are traditionally seen through cultural lens
that consider previously dened gender roles,
in which men are responsible for providing the
family through paid external work, while women
are due to homecare and children bearing (Jean
et al., 2015).
Therefore, social pressure on women to assu-
me the role of mother/caregiver represents an
important gender-related barrier. According to
Helwig (2004), the support of others for female
insertion in the labor market will depend on whe-
ther she has children or not. Women continue to
be more involved with children and homecare
than men, which causes an accumulation of
functions and work overload especially when
considering the lower time that men spend on
such tasks (Phillips & Imho, 1997).
Considering Hypotheses 3 and 4, the more
support women perceive, the less symptoms of
depression and anxiety they present, which hi-
ghlights the relevance of the support, especially
from important people. This result is corrobora-
ted by Mullet et al., (2017), which indicate that
women’s success is stimulated by perceived
social and emotional support. Besides, Ornelas
(1994) states that social support directly aects
people’s mental health. Thus, it is necessary to
emphasize the importance of support to people’s

Ligia Carolina Oliveira-Silva • Maria Clara Cardoso de Lima
Mental health of women in stem: inuences of career barriers and support 9/12
well-being, especially when they keep on facing
barriers just for being women.
According to Hypothesis 5 results, the anxiety
and depression symptoms that women in STEM
careers experience are aected by their support
and barriers perceptions, in a greater extent that
for women in other careers. In other words, al-
though there were no dierences in terms of
how women from dierent groups perceive each
variable separately, women from the STEM group
evidenced higher perceptions of their relationship,
such that for STEM women, anxiety and depres-
sion symptoms are more strongly predicted by
perceptions of barriers and support. Research has
also indicated that barriers such as competitive-
ness and the daily need to prove their skills lead
women in STEM to experience feelings of lone-
liness more often (Deziel et al., 2013). Such feelings
can be associated with anxiety and depression
symptoms, as evidenced by the present research.
Recalling the smaller participation of women in
the labor market in comparison to men (WHO,
2017), it is noticeable that not only female talents
would be vanishing from STEM, but women also
become more ill, which according to our results
may be due to the fact that they perceive more
barriers and less support.
Overall, our results indicate that in addition to
the perception of barriers and lack of support
inuencing anxiety and depression symptoms
in women, it is necessary to highlight that this
relationship may be intensied when it comes to
women in STEM. There are dierent reasons why
women are in lower numbers in STEM careers, as
many situations are gender inuenced, including
selection processes (Saucerman & Vasquez,
2014). Recalling leaking pipeline, glass ceiling
and scissor eect metaphors, it could be assu-
med that one of the reasons why women from
dierent elds give up or simply do not progress
in career is associated with the premise that the
lack of support and presence of barriers make
them more anxious and depressed.
Final considerations
This study achieved its aim of investigating
the relationship between perceived barriers and
career support with the prevalence of depression
and anxiety symptoms, as well as to compare
dierences between women in STEM and non-
-STEM. The survey results showed that the more
women perceive barriers, the more they expe-
rience symptoms of anxiety and depression. On
the other hand, the more they perceive support,
the less they show symptoms of anxiety and
depression. These relationships are accentuated
when women are in STEM careers, which signal
the need for greater attention to this group.
Considering that women’s talents often di-
sappear in face of so many barriers and lack of
social support, we understand that the results
found could subsidize the promotion of gender
equity organizational practices that take into ac-
count the specicities pointed out here. Despite
the cons that such practices may present as to
give rise to interpretations of supposed female
incapacity and fragility, it is necessary to highlight
that as we consider gender barriers, women tend
to give up earlier and more frequently, as well
as to become more ill. Since it is important to
escalate everyone’s well-being in organizations,
it is urgent to pay attention to the establishment
of a friendly environment to all, considering the
particularities of each group and, in this case, of
women in STEM.
Another practical implication refers to men
-
tal health services. From the data presented
here, there is evidence about the predictive re-
lationships between women’s perceived barriers
and support and lack of mental health symptoms,
which could foster, for example, the proposition
of public policies that involve this issue. When
considering the Brazilian scientic panorama, it
is observed that there is still a great absence of
studies about women and gender issues in Or-
ganizational and Work Psychology, as well as in
relation to the perception of barriers and career
support. In this sense, the present study is a pio-
neer when it comes to Brazil and South America
realities, as it presents relevant information for
managers and organizations with regard to the
professional development of women, especially in

10/12 Psico, Porto Alegre, v. 53, n. 1, p. 1-12, jan.-dez. 2022 | e-38473
STEM careers. Therefore, there is room for reec-
tion on how to develop strategies to attract and
keep more women in STEM careers, contributing
to their rise and considering the occupational
impacts on their psychological well-being.
However, one of the limitations refers to the
cross-section design and the use of self-report
for investigating variables, which may be aected
by social desirability. Another limitation concerns
the lack of emphasis on the ethnic-racial issue,
as black women experiences for certain could
account for dierences in the analyzed varia
-
bles, especially in STEM elds. Additionally, the
questionnaires used for evaluating anxiety and
depression only represent indicatives or symp-
toms, with no psychodiagnosis made.
A suggestion for future research is the analysis
of more specic aspects, such as how sub-factors
of the Career Barriers Inventory (sex discrimina-
tion, lack of condence, multiple roles conict,
racial discrimination, etc.) correlate to a greater
or lesser extent with women’s mental health.
Further aspects of mental health could also be
investigated, in other quantitative or qualitative
approaches, as well as longitudinal observations,
daily reports or previous psychiatric/psychologi-
cal diagnostics. In addition, studies should inclu-
de elds of activity that are also predominantly
male, but that do not t in the professions called
STEM. Larger samples of women could also be
contemplated, as well as in comparison with
male groups. Finally, studies regarding multiple
countries and cultures should be carried out, as
well as studies with women in dierent career
stages, in order to analyze whether these die-
rences on gender equity policies and practices
may aect perceptions of barriers and support
and, therefore, mental health indicators.
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Ligia Carolina Oliveira-Silva
Doutora e mestre em Psicologia Social, do Trabalho e
das Organizações pela Universidade de Brasília (UnB),
em Brasília, DF, Brasil. Psicóloga pela Universidade
Federal de Sergipe (UFS). Professora do Instituto de
Psicologia e do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psi-
cologia da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU),
em Uberlândia, MG, Brasil. Líder do Grupo de Pesquisa
“Trabalhando com as Marias: Psicologia, Carreira e
Mulheres” (CNPq).
Maria Clara Cardoso de Lima
Bacharel em Psicologia pela Universidade Federal de
Uberlândia (UFU), em Uberlândia, MG, Brasil.
Mailing address
Ligia Carolina Oliveira Silva
Universidade Federal de Uberlândia
Av. Pará, 1720-Bloco 2C
Campus Umuarama, 38405-240
Uberlândia, MG, Brasil
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