Gender Inequality and Decision to Migrate to Pursue PhD degree in the US

• In Event: 20862 - Section on International Migration Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 5: Migration and Education

Abstract

This study explores whether pursuing an advanced degree abroad is a route for women to migrate, particularly those from countries with gender discrimination. Specifically, it investigates whether the level of gender inequality in one’s home country influences one’s decision to become an international PhD student in the US, and whether this effect is moderated by one’s gender. Using the Survey of Earned Doctorates, a census survey of PhD recipients from US PhD-granting institutions, combined with country-level gender inequality index (The Global Gender Gap Index), preliminary results find that: 1) being a woman is negatively related to pursuing a PhD in the US; 2) higher gender inequality level in the home country is correlated with lower propensity to pursue a PhD in the US; however, 3) the intersection effects reveal that women from countries with higher gender inequality are more likely to pursue PhDs in the US compared to their male counterparts from the same countries. These findings indicate how international education serves as a strategic pathway for women to circumvent structural barriers in their home countries, potentially using PhD attainment in the US as a mobility route to escape constraining gender regimes. This research contributes to our understanding of gendered pathways in migration decisions to the US as international PhD students.

Author

• Minyoung An, University of Arizona