The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields limits their development, their career opportunities, and societal progress. This study used social cognitive career theory to explore the relationship between informal STEM learning activities and STEM career intention in female high-school students. Using a mixed-methods approach, we surveyed 58 students participating in school–enterprise collaborative informal STEM activities and then conducted semistructured interviews with 11 randomly selected students. The results revealed a significant positive correlation between the frequency of participation in various informal STEM learning activities and the STEM career intention of the female high-school students. Informal learning experiences significantly positively affected the female students’ interest in STEM, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and fulfillment of social needs, thereby promoting their STEM career intention. This study enhances our understanding of the needs of female students in STEM and offers targeted recommendations for educators and policymakers.

女性在科学、技术、工程和数学 （STEM） 领域的代表性不足限制了她们的发展、职业机会和社会进步。本研究使用社会认知职业理论探讨了女高中生非正式 STEM 学习活动与 STEM 职业意向之间的关系。使用混合方法，我们调查了 58 名参加校企合作非正式 STEM 活动的学生，然后对 11 名随机选择的学生进行了半结构化访谈。结果显示，参加各种非正式 STEM 学习活动的频率与女高中生的 STEM 职业意向之间存在显著的正相关关系。非正式学习经历对女学生对 STEM 的兴趣、自我效能感、结果期望和社会需求的满足有显著积极影响，从而促进了她们的 STEM 职业意向。这项研究增强了我们对 STEM 领域女学生需求的理解，并为教育工作者和政策制定者提供了有针对性的建议。