Women and STEM / Shulamit Kahn, Donna Ginther.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kahn, Shulamit.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Ginther, Donna.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w23525.

NBER working paper series no. w23525

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2017.

Summary:

Researchers from economics, sociology, psychology, and other disciplines have studied the persistent under-representation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This chapter summarizes this research. We argue that women's under-representation is concentrated in the math-intensive science fields of geosciences, engineering, economics, math/computer science and physical science. Our analysis concentrates on the environmental factors that influence ability, preferences, and the rewards for those choices. We examine how gendered stereotypes, culture, role models, competition, risk aversion, and interests contribute to gender STEM gap, starting at childhood, solidifying by middle school, and affecting women and men as they progress through school, higher education, and into the labor market. Our results are consistent with preferences and psychological explanations for the under-representation of women in math-intensive STEM fields.

Notes:

Print version record

June 2017.