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STEM Training and Early Career Outcomes of Female and Male Graduate Students: Evidence from UMETRICS Data Linked to the 2010 Census

Author

Listed:
  • Catherine Buffington
  • Benjamin Cerf
  • Christina Jones
  • Bruce A. Weinberg

Abstract

Women are underrepresented in science and engineering, with the underrepresentation increasing in career stage. We analyze gender differences at critical junctures in the STEM pathway--graduate training and the early career--using UMETRICS administrative data matched to the 2010 Census and W-2s. We find strong gender separation in teams, although the effects of this are ambiguous. While no clear disadvantages exist in training environments, women earn 10% less than men once we include a wide range of controls, most notably field of study. This gap disappears once we control for women's marital status and presence of children.

Suggested Citation

  • Catherine Buffington & Benjamin Cerf & Christina Jones & Bruce A. Weinberg, 2016. "STEM Training and Early Career Outcomes of Female and Male Graduate Students: Evidence from UMETRICS Data Linked to the 2010 Census," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(5), pages 333-338, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:106:y:2016:i:5:p:333-38
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.p20161124
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    2. Michele Pezzoni & Jacques Mairesse & Paula Stephan & Julia Lane, 2016. "Gender and the Publication Output of Graduate Students: A Case Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, January.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Shulamit Kahn & Donna Ginther, 2017. "Women and STEM," NBER Working Papers 23525, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Anthony Strittmatter & Conny Wunsch, 2025. "Labor market sorting and the gender pay gap revisited," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 38(3), pages 1-41, September.
    5. Graddy-Reed, Alexandra & Lanahan, Lauren & Eyer, Jonathan, 2019. "Gender discrepancies in publication productivity of high-performing life science graduate students," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    6. Eleonora Brandimarti, 2025. "Self-Selection, University Courses and Returns to Advanced Degrees," Papers 2511.09260, arXiv.org.
    7. Meoli, Azzurra & Piva, Evila & Righi, Hérica, 2024. "Missing women in STEM occupations: The impact of university education on the gender gap in graduates' transition to work," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(8).
    8. Dwayne Benjamin & Boriana Miloucheva & Natalia Vigezzi, 2025. "The Opportunity Cost of a PhD: Spending your Twenties," Working Papers tecipa-802, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    9. Chen, Haoning & Dong, Miaomiao & Henry, Marc & Sidorov, Ivan, 2025. "Occupational segregation in a Roy model with composition preferences," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 365-386.
    10. Peter Adu & Tomas Jurcik & Emmanuel Demah & Patrick T Korang & Dmitry Grigoryev, 2024. "Mental health literacy for social phobia in Ghana: Investigation of gender stereotypes and previous experience for recognition rates and prejudice," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 70(2), pages 271-281, March.
    11. Aina, Carmen & Casalone, Giorgia, 2020. "Early labor market outcomes of university graduates: Does time to degree matter?," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    12. Strittmatter, Anthony & Wunsch, Conny, 2021. "The Gender Pay Gap Revisited with Big Data: Do Methodological Choices Matter?," Working papers 2021/05, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    13. Lucia Foster, 2020. "Panel Remarks: Measuring Business Innovation Using a Multidimensional Approach," NBER Chapters, in: The Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Economic Growth, pages 569-575, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Elizabeth Lyons & Laurina Zhang, 2023. "Salary transparency and gender pay inequality: Evidence from Canadian universities," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(8), pages 2005-2034, August.
    15. Erin Percival Carter, 2024. "Power and the perception of pregnancy in the academy," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 1951-1975, September.
    16. Craig W. Carpenter & Anders Van Sandt & Rebekka Dudensing & Scott Loveridge, 2022. "Profit Pools and Determinants of Potential County-Level Manufacturing Growth," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 45(2), pages 188-224, March.
    17. Singhal, Karan & Sierminska, Eva, 2024. "Inequality in the Economics Profession," IZA Discussion Papers 17584, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Haoning Chen & Miaomiao Dong & Marc Henry & Ivan Sidorov, 2020. "Occupational segregation in a Roy model with composition preferences," Papers 2012.04485, arXiv.org, revised Sep 2024.
    19. Jason Coupet & Yuhao Ba, 2022. "Benchmarking university technology transfer performance with external research funding: a stochastic frontier analysis," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 605-620, April.
    20. Wei Cheng & Bruce A. Weinberg, 2021. "Marginalized and Overlooked? Minoritized Groups and the Adoption of New Scientific Ideas," NBER Working Papers 29179, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Peter Riley Bahr & Claire A. Boeck & Yiran Chen & Paula Clasing-Manquian, 2024. "Less is more, or is it? Age and Gender Differences in How Students Build Momentum toward College Graduation," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 65(8), pages 1771-1803, December.
    22. Shubhanshu Mishra & Brent D Fegley & Jana Diesner & Vetle I Torvik, 2018. "Self-citation is the hallmark of productive authors, of any gender," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(9), pages 1-21, September.
    23. Stavropoulou, Charitini & Viney, Ian, 2025. "Transitioning to independence in medical research: A qualitative study using a systems theory perspective," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(1).
    24. Sofoklis Goulas & Rigissa Megalokonomou & Yi Zhang, 2023. "Female Classmates, Disruption, and STEM Outcomes in Disadvantaged Schools: Evidence from a Randomized Natural Experiment," CESifo Working Paper Series 10864, CESifo.
    25. Chang, Wan-Ying & Cheng, Wei & Lane, Julia & Weinberg, Bruce, 2019. "Federal funding of doctoral recipients: What can be learned from linked data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(6), pages 1487-1492.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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