There is great gender gap in mathematics and science among countries around the world, but the gender gap is one of the largest in Japan. In order to address this issue, we evaluated an educational intervention to empower the next generation of female youths by employing design thinking to ignite their interests in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) fields. In this article, we explain the rationale for the intervention, describe the unique three‐day curriculum employing design thinking, and share the results from the intervention. There are four key findings of our study. After participating in the workshop, the middle school female students showed greater interest in STEAM fields, demonstrated increased levels of creative confidence, cultivated a greater sense of empathy for others, and exhibited greater appreciation for collaboration. This study highlights the possibilities and opportunities for using design thinking to encourage female youths to become more interested in STEAM fields.

中文翻译：

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“女性不需要勉强”：运用设计思维来提高对STEAM的创作信心和兴趣

世界各国之间在数学和科学领域存在巨大的性别差距，但性别差距是日本最大的性别差距之一。为了解决这个问题，我们评估了一项教育干预措施，通过运用设计思维激发他们对科学，技术，工程，艺术和数学（STEAM）领域的兴趣，增强了下一代女性青年的能力。在本文中，我们解释了干预的原理，描述了采用设计思想的独特的三天课程，并分享了干预的结果。我们的研究有四个主要发现。参加讲习班后，中学生对STEAM领域表现出了更大的兴趣，表现出更高的创造信心，对他人产生了更多的同理心，对合作表现出更大的赞赏。这项研究突出了使用设计思维来鼓励女性青年对STEAM领域更加感兴趣的可能性和机会。