Can Gender-responsive Pedagogy and Weekly Office Hours in STEM Courses Reduce Gender Gaps in School Participation and STEM Fields?

STEM-related sector workers earn higher and face lower unemployment rates; yet, women are underrepresented in these sectors (29.2% of global workforce), reflecting the existing but overlooked girls’ low participation and achievement in STEM-education fields, especially in Africa. Causes include gender norms, low confidence, lack of role models, and discouraging remarks, especially from STEM teachers. Lack of interventions that incentives girls to enter STEM fields exacerbates this gap; yet, closing gender employment gaps could increase global GDP per capita by 20%. This project designs an intervention that trains mathematics and physics-chemistry (MPC) teachers in gender-responsive pedagogy (Pedagogy) and provides weekly office hours (OH), led by high-achieving young women to support girls in STEM subjects in Benin. In Benin, evidence suggests that the gender gap in mathematics is insignificant in primary but emerges in secondary school and widens over time. Thus, we design a clustered-randomized control trial with 8th-grade junior secondary school (JSS) girls. Using statistical power calculations and blocking on municipality, we randomly assign a reasonable sample of JSS to four treatment conditions, including Control, Pedagogy, OH, and Pedagogy and OH. Then, we track changes in outcomes such as Participation and Performance in MPC, Study Fields, and Career aspirations for girls and boys over two years, using baseline and endline surveys. This design enables us to assess effective strategies, refine existing practices, and inform sustainable education policies aimed at closing gender gaps in STEM fields. We implement this project with Benin NGO, ESPOIR POUR TOUS, and government agencies experienced in promoting girls' education.