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The Gender Gap in STEM Majors: The (Un)-Importance of Life Goals

Author

Listed:
  • Margaret Leighton

    (University of St Andrews)

  • Jamin D Speer

    (University of Memphis)

Abstract

There is a large gender gap in who chooses STEM majors, yet decades of research have failed to explain this gap in its entirety. We use extensive data on incoming college freshmen to estimate the importance of ability (both test-based and self-assessed), life goals, other self-assessed traits, high school courses, and family background in explaining the gender gap in STEM majors. Even with this detailed data, we can explain only 39% of the gender gap. A Gelbach decomposition shows that self-assessed ability (26%) and high school courses (12%) account for the bulk of the explained gap, while goals explain little and in fact controlling for goals slightly widens the gender gap. Goals are similarly uninformative of the gender gap in STEM persistence from freshman to senior year. On the other hand, goals contribute substantially to gender differences in biology and some non-STEM majors, particularly business, education, and health, but remain uninformative of the gap for the majority of STEM subjects. We conclude that while life goals are strongly related to major choice, gender-based differences in these goals are not the missing piece to the STEM gender gap puzzle.

Suggested Citation

  • Margaret Leighton & Jamin D Speer, 2026. "The Gender Gap in STEM Majors: The (Un)-Importance of Life Goals," Economics Discussion Papers 2603, Department of Economics, The University of St Andrews Business School.
    • Handle: RePEc:san:econdp:2603
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Speer, Jamin D., 2017. "The gender gap in college major: Revisiting the role of pre-college factors," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 69-88.
    2. Astorne-Figari, Carmen & Speer, Jamin D., 2018. "Drop out, switch majors, or persist? The contrasting gender gaps," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 82-85.
    3. Shi, Ying, 2018. "The puzzle of missing female engineers: Academic preparation, ability beliefs, and preferences," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 129-143.
    4. Owen, Stephanie, 2023. "College major choice and beliefs about relative performance: An experimental intervention to understand gender gaps in STEM," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items 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
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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