Exploring the association between communicating about NMR spectra and acute awareness of stigma attached to one's gender among women in postsecondary organic chemistry courses

Women report that they must conform to masculine behavioral norms to progress in chemistry, with the necessity of adopting such norms pushing them from the field. Advancing gender-based equity within chemistry will thus entail identifying these norms, deconstructing them, and, ultimately, redefining them to be inclusive of all individuals. To support these efforts, this study investigates whether engaging in a traditional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) communication task versus a similar task with multiple identity-safe cues differentially impacts individuals’ gender stigma consciousness, or the extent to which individuals are acutely aware of stigma attached to their gender. Undergraduates (n = 543) enrolled in Organic Chemistry II at a large university in the southeastern United States completed an online NMR communication task followed by a version of the Social Identities and Attitudes Scale (SIAS) modified for use in chemistry learning environments (i.e., the SIAS-Chem). Participants were randomly assigned to one of two prompt groups prior to task completion: one group was told the task evaluates their NMR communication ability, and the other group was told the task was non-evaluative and used to understand the different ways people communicate. The results provide initial psychometric evidence of the SIAS-Chem's functionality and measurement invariance across prompt groups, providing preliminary support for its use in identifying chemistry practices that are potentially exclusionary of women. Further, women who were told the task evaluates NMR communication ability reported greater gender stigma consciousness on the SIAS-Chem compared to women who were told the task was non-evaluative, while there is no evidence of men scoring differently across prompts. Gender stigma consciousness was also associated with confidence during task completion among women who were told the task was non-evaluative. The findings have implications for the design of equitable assessments and instruction on NMR spectroscopy and future research on communication styles in chemistry.