Gender Gaps in Undergraduate Fields of Study: Do College Characteristics Matter?

Abstract

Despite gender parity in earned bachelor’s degrees, large gender gaps persist across fields of study. The dominant explanatory framework in this area of research assesses how gender differences in individual-level attributes predict gaps in major choice. The authors argue that individualistic accounts cannot provide a complete explanation because they fail to consider the powerful effects of the gendered institutional environments that inform and shape young men’s and women’s choices. The authors propose a cultural-organizational approach that considers how institutional characteristics and cultural contexts on college campuses may influence gendered choices and thus be associated with patterns of gender segregation across fields of study. The results of an analysis of institutional data on all U.S. degree-granting colleges and universities reveal substantial interinstitutional variation in gender segregation. Furthermore, structural and contextual institutional features related to peer culture, curricular focus, institutional commitment to gender equity, and the gender proportionality of the student body correlate with heightened or diminished levels of segregation.

Female mentors positively contribute to undergraduate STEM research experiences

“…Our analysis indicates that how female students perceive their mentor may be related to their mentor’s gender since, female students with female mentors were more likely than female students with male mentors to report that their mentor was a good role model ( Fig 9 ). These data reiterate past studies that demonstrate the value of female role models for female trainees [ 15 , 16 , 22 ].…”

“…Further, female students with a female mentor were more likely than those with a male mentor to state that their mentor was a good role model. While the benefit of female mentors for female students that we report here is expected and previously documented [ 16 , 22 ], our study shows that female mentors were beneficial for male students as well. These results add to our current knowledge regarding undergraduate mentoring relationships and underscore the value of female mentors in undergraduate research.…”

“…Studies show that starting from an early age, when girls are socially exposed to other girls interested in STEM, they are more likely to maintain their own interests in STEM [ 15 ]. Further, characteristics of undergraduate institutes, such as the proportion of women in faculty and leadership positions, also shape how undergraduate women perceive different majors and traditional gender stereotypes [ 16 ].…”

Is Choosing a Major Choosing a Career or Interesting Courses? An Investigation into College Students’ Orientations for College Majors and Their Stability

“…Beyond their own orientations, students have many other factors influencing their ability to declare a major, such as their academic performance (Armstrong & Hamilton, 2013). Previous research demonstrates that orientations for college majors are shaped by the type of postsecondary institution a student attends and an individual student's demographic characteristics (Mullen, 2014;Mullen & Baker, 2018). Journal of Postsecondary Student Success…”

Visualizing Demographic Representation in ASA Sections: The Case of Race/Ethnicity and Gender in CITAMS

“…However, organizations that introduce initiatives to increase diversity tend to achieve that goal, especially when combined with structures of accountability (Dobbin, Schrage, and Kalev 2015). Doing so can have profound consequences for organizations: elevating the representation of women and BIPOC people in positions of organizational leadership reshapes both the distribution of power within the organization (Ray 2019) and the choices of people throughout in the organization (Mullen and Baker 2018).…”