Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/185280 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 11820
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Although women earn approximately 50% of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) bachelor's degrees, more than 70% of scientists and engineers are men. We explore a potential determinant of this STEM gender gap using newly collected data on the career trajectories of United States Air Force Academy students. Specifically, we examine the effects of being assigned female math and science professors on occupation and postgraduate education. We find that, among high-ability female students, being assigned a female professor leads to substantial increases in the probability of working in a STEM occupation and the probability of receiving a STEM master's degree.
Subjects: 
gender gap
STEM occupational choice
post-graduate education
JEL: 
I20
J16
J24
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
1.14 MB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.