Gender biases in robots for education

Educational robotics is increasingly spreading in schools, also with the aim of fostering young women’s interest in STEM disciplines, particularly in programming and Artificial Intelligence. However, it is crucial to design and select robots that resonate emotionally with female students to overcome gender stereotypes that traditionally deter them from computer science disciplines. This study explores the hypothesis that educational robots should be specifically tailored to meet the expectations and interests of female students. An experiment was conducted with 211 participants, equally divided by gender, who were asked to evaluate images of 16 different educational robots using a semantic differential scale. The results reveal differences between males and females in the attitudes and opinions towards educational robots. While both genders generally rated the robots as more masculine than feminine, female participants tended to provide higher overall scores, except for specific robots. Additionally, robots that were perceived as more feminine were often rated as simpler whereas masculine robots are associated to the words intelligent and creative, reflecting established societal stereotypes. These insights suggest that educational robots should be designed to appeal to both girls and boys, avoiding reinforcing gender stereotypes and ensuring inclusivity in STEM education. Further research is necessary to explore these attitudes and their implications for fostering a more balanced interest in STEM among both genders.