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Why Do Women Leave Science And Engineering?

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  • Jennifer Hunt

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Abstract

I use the 1993 and 2003 National Surveys of College Graduates to examine the higher exit rate of women compared to men from science and engineering relative to other fields. I find that the higher relative exit rate is driven by engineering rather than science, and show that 60\% of the gap can be explained by the relatively greater exit rate from engineering of women dissatisfied with pay and promotion opportunities. Contrary to the existing literature, I find that family--related constraints and dissatisfaction with working conditions are only secondary factors. My results differ due to my use of non--science and engineering fields as a comparison group. The relative exit rate by gender from engineering does not differ from that of other fields once women's relatively high exit rates from male fields generally are taken into account.

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File URL: http://www.mcgill.ca/files/economics/leavescience_all.pdf
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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by McGill University, Department of Economics in its series Departmental Working Papers with number 2010-03.

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Length: 43 pages
Date of creation: Mar 2010
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:mcl:mclwop:2010-03

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  1. Robst, John, 2007. "Education and job match: The relatedness of college major and work," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 397-407, August.
  2. Jennifer Hunt & Marjolaine Gauthier-Loiselle, 2010. "How Much Does Immigration Boost Innovation?," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 31-56, April.
  3. Hunt, Jennifer, 2010. "Which Immigrants Are Most Innovative and Entrepreneurial: Distinctions by Entry Visa," CEPR Discussion Papers 7699, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  4. Paula Stephan & Sharon Levin, 2005. "Leaving Careers in IT: Gender Differences in Retention," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 383-396, October.
  5. Preston, Anne E, 1994. "Why Have All the Women Gone? A Study of Exit of Women from the Science and Engineering Professions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(5), pages 1446-62, December.
  6. Nicole M. Fortin, 2008. "The Gender Wage Gap among Young Adults in the United States: The Importance of Money versus People," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 43(4).
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Cited by:
  1. Lisa D. Cook & Chaleampong Kongcharoen, 2010. "The Idea Gap in Pink and Black," NBER Working Papers 16331, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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