Gender Differences in Attitudes toward Science in Switzerland

Abstract

This article addresses the debate initiated in this journal on analyses exploring the extent to which sociodemographic background and scientific knowledge explain gender differences in attitudes toward science. Using data from a nationally stratified Swiss survey on attitudes toward science, initial results suggest that, although men have more positive attitudes toward science and greater levels of scientific knowledge than women, gender differences are non-significant once the sociodemographic variables are included in the multiple regression models. More specifically, scientific knowledge and education have an independent effect on attitudes toward science. However, the interpretation of these results is slightly different if the hypothesis, that the effect of any single explanatory variable is the same among men and women in the regression model, is validated. Results show that the interaction between gender and scientific knowledge is significant, so that the effect of scientific knowledge on attitude toward science depends on gender.