Factors Associated With STEAM Career Interest Among Female Students in Bangladesh: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Girls' access to education in Bangladesh has improved markedly. Yet women remain underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM). Quantitative evidence on the factors linked to female students' STEAM career interest is limited. This study examined how confidence, family support, access to digital resources and female role-model exposure relate to STEAM career interest. It also examined whether these factors differ between urban and rural students.

METHODS

A cross-sectional online survey was conducted between July and September 2025. Participants were 424 female students recruited through purposive sampling (65.09% undergraduate, 27.83% higher secondary, 6.84% secondary; 73.58% urban). Each construct was measured with a single five-point Likert item. Analyses included Spearman correlations, chi-square tests, Welch t-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, and ordinal and binary logistic regression. MANOVA and K-means clustering were used as exploratory analyses.

RESULTS

In the binary logistic regression with all four factors, confidence (OR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.53-2.53) and family support (OR = 2.23, 95% CI = 1.74-2.87) were associated with higher odds of STEAM career interest. Role-model exposure was not associated with interest (OR = 1.15, p = 0.212). Access showed no positive association (OR = 0.76, p = 0.035). Results were similar after adjustment for location and educational level, and after excluding probable duplicate submissions. Urban respondents reported stronger family encouragement than rural respondents (χ2(4) = 18.43, p = 0.001, Cramér's V = 0.21). Confidence and digital access did not differ significantly by location.

CONCLUSION

In this research, STEAM career interest was associated jointly with self-confidence and family support. Digital access and role-model exposure showed no independent positive association. Interventions that combine confidence building with family and teacher engagement, and that embed role models in sustained mentoring, may be more promising than single-factor approaches. Longitudinal and representative studies are needed to confirm these associations.