A better understanding of the “sense of mattering” might help shine new light on the underlying reasons for the persistent gender gap in certain domains. In a review article published in Social and Personality Psychology Compass, researchers present evidence that women’s contributions are often undervalued and overlooked in male-dominated environments, which could be an important factor driving women’s underrepresentation in certain academic and professional fields.
The impetus for this research stemmed from the persistent underrepresentation and undervaluation of women in various professional and academic fields, despite ongoing efforts to bridge the gender gap. Earlier research has pointed to factors like gender bias, a lower sense of belonging, and reduced self-confidence as contributing elements. However, this study introduces a new dimension to the discussion: the sense of mattering.
“When I talk to people about what their experiences are like at work and school, one thing that comes up over and over again is this question of whether they feel like their work is recognized and valued,” said study author Ella J. Lombard, a social psychology PhD candidate at the University of Washington in Sapna Cheryan’s Stereotypes, Identity, and Belonging Lab.
“Do other people see your contributions? Do they give you credit for your ideas? And for those who hold identities that are underrepresented — like women in some STEM fields — feeling this lower ‘sense of mattering’ can be a source of stress and can have tangible career impacts. I wanted to dive into sense of mattering as a concept that could help us more fully understand why gender disparities persist, and also as something that many people are grappling with in everyday life but that we haven’t really had the scientific language to describe.”
The researchers conducted a study involving 241 undergraduate students (121 women and 120 men). Each participant responded to a series of carefully designed questions intended to measure their sense of mattering in the field of computer science. These questions aimed to gauge how much the students felt their potential contributions to the field would be valued and recognized.
In addition to the sense of mattering, the study also explored other related areas such as the students’ interest in computer science, their sense of belonging in the field, their anticipated success, and concerns about stereotype threats.
The researchers found evidence the sense of mattering was indeed a distinct concept, related to but not identical to other factors like the sense of belonging and concerns about stereotypes. A sense of mattering was also associated with the student’s anticipated success.
“Have you ever been talked over, had someone else take credit for your ideas, or gotten the sense that the same level of contribution from different people is valued differently? This paper dives into how experiences like these can reinforce existing inequities. The drive to have our contributions recognized and valued — whether as employees at work or students in classrooms — is powerful. We introduce this ‘sense of mattering’ as a construct that may help explain why gender disparities persist in traditionally masculine spaces and roles. We argue that creating cultures at work and school where every contributor is fairly valued is crucial to closing gaps in recruitment, retention, and success.”
According to the researchers, future research on the concept of sense of mattering could help us to better understand and address gender disparities in academic and professional fields. Key areas of focus include refining the measurement of sense of mattering, investigating its significance across different stages of career development, and exploring its impact among individuals with intersecting identities, such as race, gender, and disability. Additionally, studies should look into potential moderating factors, such as the degree of identification with one’s work field.
“The drive to be recognized and valued for our academic and professional work is surprisingly understudied despite its potential to shape gender disparities. Much more work has focused on women’s sense of belonging, but studying women’s sense of mattering in addition to things like belonging may help us gain a more complete understanding of the barriers women face in traditionally masculine environments.”
“I’m curious about whether sense of mattering might be more important to people at certain career stages or depending on how closely they identify with their work. I also would love to see work on sense of mattering expand beyond gender — could disparities in sense of mattering help explain the underrepresentation of people of color, LGBTQ+ people, or disabled people in certain fields and roles? And what about the intersections between some of those groups — for example, some of the qualitative research papers that informed my perspective on sense of mattering focused specifically on the experiences of Black women, who may be especially likely to be overlooked and undervalued. I think there are so many interesting questions to explore.”
The study, “Does my work matter? Reduced sense of mattering as a source of gender disparities“, was authored by Ella J. Lombard and Sapna Cheryan.
