Cultural and intergenerational dynamics of public trust in science and gendered expertise: evidence from five countries

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields are essential for economic growth, yet women’s under-representation remains a persistent barrier to inclusive development. Gender-based stereotypes deter women from engaging in STEM careers, particularly in scientific research. This study utilizes a randomized survey experiment ( n = 5837) across five countries—Canada, Switzerland, Israel/West Bank and Gaza, Italy, and the United Arab Emirates—to investigate factors shaping public trust in three distinct dimensions: science, male scientists, and female scientists. Furthermore, it explores how the gender of presumed information providers influences respondents’ willingness to update their beliefs on a range of scientific statements. General trust in science is high across all countries, yet respondents exhibit lower trust in individual scientists, with cross-country variation. While trust in female scientists is on average higher than trust in male scientists, trust levels are lower in more gender equal countries, such as Canada and Switzerland, and highest in the UAE. Except for Canada, where male respondents are significantly less willing to update wrong beliefs once exposed to the image of a woman ( p < 0.05), the experimental estimates are close to null, suggesting no consistent evidence that gendered source cues affect belief update. The study also examines the intergenerational transmission of trust using a matched parent-child sample ( n = 483), finding that parental attitudes significantly shape children’s trust in science and female scientists, yet experimental evidence of gender bias is also absent among children. Addressing gender gaps in STEM requires early-life interventions that go beyond representation to dismantle ingrained societal stereotypes that are often transmitted vertically within the family since young ages.