- The Oxford Handbook of Women and the Economy
- About the Editors
- Contributors
- Introduction: Women, the Economy, and Economics
- Marriage-Market Search and Sorting: Explanations and Evidence
- Marriage and Marriage Markets
- Marital Instability in the United States: Trends, Driving Forces, and Implications for Children
- Marriage Markets in Developing Countries
- Fertility Issues and Policy in Developing Countries
- Fertility Issues in Developed Countries
- Fertility Policy in Developed Countries
- Nonmarital and Teen Fertility
- Access and Use of Contraception and Its Effects on Women’s Outcomes in the United States
- Child Gender and the Family
- Maternal Socioeconomic Status and the Well-Being of the Next Generation(s)
- US Child Care Policy and Economic Impacts
- Maternity and Family Leave Policy
- The Causes and Consequences of Increased Female Education and Labor Force Participation in Developing Countries
- The Gender Wage Gap in Developed Countries
- Women, Work, and Family
- Occupation and Gender
- Taxes, Transfers, and Women’s Labor Supply in the United States
- Gender Differences in Behavioral Traits and Labor Market Outcomes
- Biology and Gender in the Labor Market
- Women and Leadership
- Women in the Workplace and Management Practices: Theory and Evidence
- Racial Differences in American Women’s Labor Market Outcomes: A Long-Run View
- Women and the Labor Market: A Feminist Perspective
- Gender: A Historical Perspective
- Understanding Differences in Mortality and Morbidity by Sex: The Role of Biological, Social, and Economic Factors
- Women’s Labor Market Status and Economic Development
- Women and Migration
- The Care Penalty and Gender Inequality
- Women and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM): Are Differences in Education and Careers Due to Stereotypes, Interests, or Family?
- Women’s Homelessness: International Evidence on Causes, Consequences, Coping, and Policies
- Index
Abstract and Keywords
Researchers from economics, sociology, psychology, and other disciplines have studied the persistent underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This chapter summarizes this research. It argues that women’s underrepresentation is concentrated in the math-intensive science fields of geosciences, engineering, economics, math/computer science, and physical science. Its analysis concentrates on the environmental factors that influence ability, preferences, and the rewards for those choices. The chapter examines how gendered stereotypes, culture, role models, competition, risk aversion, and interests contribute to the gender STEM gap, starting in childhood, solidifying by middle school, and affecting women and men as they progress through school and higher education and into the labor market. The results are consistent with preferences and psychological explanations for the underrepresentation of women in math-intensive STEM fields.
Keywords: STEM, gender, women and science, engineering, math ability, work-life balance, major choice, occupational choice
Shulamit Kahn, Boston University
Donna Ginther, University of Kansas
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- The Oxford Handbook of Women and the Economy
- About the Editors
- Contributors
- Introduction: Women, the Economy, and Economics
- Marriage-Market Search and Sorting: Explanations and Evidence
- Marriage and Marriage Markets
- Marital Instability in the United States: Trends, Driving Forces, and Implications for Children
- Marriage Markets in Developing Countries
- Fertility Issues and Policy in Developing Countries
- Fertility Issues in Developed Countries
- Fertility Policy in Developed Countries
- Nonmarital and Teen Fertility
- Access and Use of Contraception and Its Effects on Women’s Outcomes in the United States
- Child Gender and the Family
- Maternal Socioeconomic Status and the Well-Being of the Next Generation(s)
- US Child Care Policy and Economic Impacts
- Maternity and Family Leave Policy
- The Causes and Consequences of Increased Female Education and Labor Force Participation in Developing Countries
- The Gender Wage Gap in Developed Countries
- Women, Work, and Family
- Occupation and Gender
- Taxes, Transfers, and Women’s Labor Supply in the United States
- Gender Differences in Behavioral Traits and Labor Market Outcomes
- Biology and Gender in the Labor Market
- Women and Leadership
- Women in the Workplace and Management Practices: Theory and Evidence
- Racial Differences in American Women’s Labor Market Outcomes: A Long-Run View
- Women and the Labor Market: A Feminist Perspective
- Gender: A Historical Perspective
- Understanding Differences in Mortality and Morbidity by Sex: The Role of Biological, Social, and Economic Factors
- Women’s Labor Market Status and Economic Development
- Women and Migration
- The Care Penalty and Gender Inequality
- Women and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM): Are Differences in Education and Careers Due to Stereotypes, Interests, or Family?
- Women’s Homelessness: International Evidence on Causes, Consequences, Coping, and Policies
- Index
