Lived Experiences of Women and Girls Who Stutter: A Scoping Review of Research From 1955 to 2025

Background: Developmental stuttering is approximately three to four times more prevalent in males than females, and research has historically drawn primarily on male-only or male-majority samples. As a result, women's and girls' experiences remain underrepresented, limiting understanding of how gender may shape the lived impact of stuttering and how research and clinical practice should respond. Purpose: This scoping review mapped the empirical literature on the lived experiences of women and girls who stutter (1955–2025) and synthesized findings using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework. Method: Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines, comprehensive searches were conducted across five databases and gray literature sources. Eligible studies were empirical studies that focused on developmental stuttering, provided separable data for female participants, and examined lived experiences. Twenty studies met inclusion criteria. Data were descriptively charted, and author-reported findings were grouped into content-oriented categories and deductively mapped to ICF domains. Results: The 20 included studies show an emerging but geographically concentrated evidence base, with most studies published since 2010 and conducted in Western, English-speaking contexts. When organized according to the ICF, findings clustered primarily within personal factors, environmental factors, and activities and participation, reflecting psychosocial, contextual, and participation-related dimensions of women's and girls' lived experiences. Key gaps included limited lifespan and longitudinal evidence, narrow cultural and linguistic representation, limited attention to within-group variation, and little research on gender-responsive assessment and intervention. Conclusions: This review suggests that women's and girls' lived experiences of stuttering cannot be understood through speech disruption alone. The available evidence points to the role of gendered expectations and contextual conditions in shaping how stuttering is experienced, managed, and supported. These findings support continued attention to women and girls who stutter as a distinct analytic focus in research and clinical practice.