STEM Career Interest and Perceived Gendered Barriers: Support Patterns in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru

This cross-sectional secondary analysis examines science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career interest among 9,732 STEM and non-STEM students and professionals in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru. Among 1,139 respondents whose policy-related adversity and gender-discrimination scores both exceeded the response midpoint, 72.3% reported interest scores averaging at least 5 ( somewhat agree ) on a seven-point scale. Within this subset, the mean interest was 4.56 when family support and perceived policy presence were both below 5 and 5.82 when both were at least 5. Adjusted analyses showed positive conditional associations for both supports; evidence for their interaction and an association with mentor presence remained inconclusive. The support contrast persisted across alternative thresholds and a restricted policy-adversity measure. Findings identify assessment priorities for career counseling and institutional support; this nonprobability study does not establish adaptation, intervention effects, or population prevalence.