Girls Who Game Three Times More Likely to Study STEM, UK Research Finds

Video games could play a surprising role in getting young women interested in PSTEM research and in closing the gender gap in those fields.

Want more young women in science and technology? Hand them a video game controller. Young girls who play video games are more likely to find themselves studying STEM subjects down the road, according to a new study from the University of Surrey.

Girls who play video games and identify as gamers are three times more likely to choose physical science, technology, engineering or maths (PSTEM) degrees compared to their non-gaming classmates, the researchers found. This could mean breaking current expectations of girls and gaming could drastically help close the gender gap in PSTEM leadership and development….