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The Global Gender Gap in STEM Applications: Pipeline vs. Choice

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  • Ahimbisibwe, Isaac
  • Altjmed, Adam
  • Artemov, Georgy
  • Barrios-Fernández, Andrés
  • Bizopoulou, Aspasia
  • Kaila, Martti
  • Liu, Jin-Tan
  • Megalokonomou, Rigissa
  • Montalbán, José
  • Neilson, Christopher
  • Sun, Jintao
  • Otero, Sebastián
  • Ye, Xiaoyang

Abstract

Women make up only 35% of global STEM graduates, a share unchanged for a decade. Using administrative data from ten centralized university admissions systems, we provide the first cross-national decomposition of the STEM gender gap into a pipeline gap (access and preparedness) and a choice gap (application decisions). The pipeline gap varies widely—from female disadvantage in Uganda to advantage in Sweden—yet the choice gap is strikingly consistent: even among top scorers, women are 25 percentage points less likely than men to apply to STEM. This stability across diverse contexts points to structural forces beyond local conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahimbisibwe, Isaac & Altjmed, Adam & Artemov, Georgy & Barrios-Fernández, Andrés & Bizopoulou, Aspasia & Kaila, Martti & Liu, Jin-Tan & Megalokonomou, Rigissa & Montalbán, José & Neilson, Christopher , 2025. "The Global Gender Gap in STEM Applications: Pipeline vs. Choice," Working Papers 176, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:fer:wpaper:176
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    File URL: https://www.doria.fi/handle/10024/193251
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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