**1. Introduction**

Gender equity in education, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, is a global priority [1]. For example, only 20% of bachelor's degrees in the United States were awarded to women in physics and engineering, with only 35% of degrees across all STEM fields being awarded to women [2]. Women's under-representation in STEM has been observed in 50 countries around the world, making it a global issue present in both post-industrial and developing countries [3, 4]. Research in this area has explored underlying reasons behind the gender gap in STEM fields through consideration of biological, social, cognitive aspects or career preference and initiatives designed to promote females' pursuit of STEM [2, 5, 6].

Most of the research in gender equity in STEM education has been conducted in the Western world, whereas in the Arab world, gender equity is primarily reported by international organizations such as the World Bank [7] from a developmental perspective. Gender equity in the Arab world—a diverse grouping of 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa—ranks lowest in the world [8] and Arab

countries have the lowest female employment rates in the world. The few women in male-dominated fields experience traditional gender dynamics, are promoted less, and have little access to decision-making positions [9]. The roots of the gender disparity in the Arab World are arguably related to (1) the patriarchal structure in the region, (2) dominant public sector employment and weak private sector employment, and (3) an inhospitable business environment for women because of the conservative nature of gender roles [10]. Within the Egyptian context, women have not exceeded 24.2% of the overall workforce, with even lower participation in the male-dominated field of engineering [10, 11]. Attempts to address this have been underway since 1990s, including the establishment of STEM schools which provide the context for this study.

Two public STEM high schools (one for boys in 2011 and one for girls in 2012) were established to provide an alternative to the existing traditional teaching and learning approaches in Egyptian education system [12]. This was considered a bold move towards ensuring equitable STEM education opportunities for both male and female students [13]. All graduates from the first STEM school cohorts have joined STEM tracks in higher education institutions inside and outside Egypt. These STEM schools have unleashed the STEM potential in Egyptian young people, male and female [12, 13], and thus warrant exploration into their success in motivating Egyptian females into STEM careers. Hence, this study was initiated and guided by the following research questions:

