Math-selective US universities reduce gender gap in STEM fields

"These findings challenge our understanding of gender inequality in STEM education," says Joseph Cimpian, the study's lead author and professor of economics and education policy at NYU Steinhardt and NYU Wagner. "We're seeing two divergent trends: at highly selective universities, women's representation in these fields is approaching parity in PECS, while at institutions serving the majority of American students, women's representation in PECS has stagnated or declined. This has profound implications for economic equality and innovation in our technological workforce."

Cimpian and his co-author, Jo R. King -- a doctoral student at NYU Wagner -- analyzed data on over 34 million bachelor's degrees awarded between 2002 and 2022, using the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) for a near-census of degrees awarded in the US.

Their results, published in Science, identified average math SAT scores as the most predictive institutional factor of male to female representation in PECS. In 2002, institutions serving students with the highest math SAT scores (around 770 and higher) had 2 men for every 1 woman in PECS fields and narrowed that ratio to 3 men to 2 women in 2022. For schools serving students with much lower SAT scores (around 450), the initial ratio of 3 men to 1 woman in 2002 increased to 7 men for every 1 woman by 2022.

They also studied patterns of initial enrollment in these math-intensive majors and found that the most selective schools -- such as Ivy League schools and flagship public research universities -- improved recruitment and retention of women in PECS, while less selective schools struggled in both recruitment and retention over the past two decades.

In contrast to PECS fields, other STEM disciplines maintain roughly equal gender representation across all institution types. Cimpian notes that this distinction highlights the unique challenges in physics, engineering, and computer science.

The researchers supplemented their analyses with two additional nationally representative datasets to assess whether the divergent patterns they observed across institutions could be explained by individual student factors. They found that the different pattern of women's PECS representation across institutions persists even after accounting for the previously identified factor of student SAT scores as well as prior intentions to major in PECS. Notably, women of color face compounded challenges, remaining underrepresented even at institutions where overall gender balance is improving.

"Our findings suggest we need to redirect resources to where the gaps are largest," says Cimpian. "While it's crucial to maintain support for institutions making progress toward equity, we must better understand and address the growing challenges at less selective institutions, where most American students pursue their degrees."

This study was supported in part by the Institute of Education Sciences (#R305B200010).