Gender Gap in STEM by College Programs

• In Event: 450 - Section on Sociology of Sex and Gender Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 13. Occupational Segregation

Abstract

The gender gap in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) majors remains one of the most persistent forms of gender stratification in education today. While conventional theories in the sociological literature have strengthened our understanding of this gap, previous studies have mostly focused on what happens in bachelor’s programs. In this paper, I employ an institutional approach to argue that more attention needs to be paid to the gender gap in STEM in other types of college programs, i.e. Non-Degree, Certificates, and Associate’s programs, as well. Using the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS), I find that the gender gap in STEM majors is larger in Certificates and Associate’s programs than in Bachelor’s programs. I also find that high school enrollment in science and math and performance mediate these negative effects of college programs on STEM majors for men, but not for women. I conclude this paper by discussing the implications of these findings, namely that we may be underestimating the extent of the gender gap in STEM by failing to examine it in different types of college programs.  

Author

• Yun Cha, University of Pennsylvania