UC San Diego

This study explores the complex and nuanced ways women navigate gendered contexts within advanced mathematics, focusing on the doctoral mathematics program at Southwest University (SWU). The research investigates how participants’ mathematical pasts, presents, and futures, as well as societal and discourses, shape their mathematical identities. In particular, the study examines how participation in the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) at SWU contributes to identity development and fosters community within a historically male-dominated discipline. The study’s overarching aim is to describe women’s experiences in doctoral mathematics from a non-deficit perspective, emphasizing agency, diversity, and context.Using qualitative research design, data were collected through narrative interviews, participant diary entries, semi-structured interviews, a focus group interview, and ethnographic observations of AWM activities. This multi-method approach enabled the triangulation of findings and provided both individual and collective perspectives on identity formation. Narrative analysis, grounded in the three-dimensional inquiry space (Creswell & Poth, 2018), was used in conjunction with thematic and ethnographic analyses to examine how mathematical identities are constructed, how discourses around gender and mathematics are navigated, and how the AWM functions as both a figured world and a site of identity development. Findings revealed diverse strategies through which participants negotiated their identities as women and mathematicians, often revealing tensions between personal aspirations and structural constraints. The study also found that discourse surrounding "Women in Math" mediated participants’ self-understandings in complex ways, including moments of distancing from gendered narratives while simultaneously recognizing the impact of gendered bias. The AWM chapter at SWU played a significant role in creating inclusive departmental spaces where women could enact empowered identities such as mentor and advocate, contributing to a sense of belonging and legitimacy. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of gender and identity in mathematics by highlighting how women actively negotiate and construct their identities within both individual and institutional contexts, and by illustrating the transformative potential of inclusive communities such as AWM.