Questioning a White Male Advantage in STEM

The authors analyze national data on recent college matriculants to investigate gender and racial/ethnic disparities in STEM fields, with an eye toward the role of academic preparation and attitudes in shaping such disparities. Results indicate that physical science/engineering (PS/E) majors are dominated by men, but not, however, disproportionately by White men. After accounting for high school preparation, the odds of declaring a PS/E major are two times greater for Black males than for White males, and Black females are closer than White females to closing the gap with White males. The authors find virtually no evidence that math attitudes contribute to disparities in choice of a PS/E major. Finally, in contrast to PS/E fields, biological sciences draw relatively equitably from all groups.

[1]  C. Mood.  Logistic Regression: Why We Cannot Do What We Think We Can Do, and What We Can Do About It , 2010 .

[2]  Va Arlington.  National Science Board. , 2010 .

[3]  Frank Pajares,et al.  A comparative study of the self‐efficacy beliefs of successful men and women in mathematics, science, and technology careers , 2008 .

[4]  Samuel R. Lucas,et al.  How Changes in Families and Schools Are Related to Trends in Black-White Test Scores , 2008 .

[5]  Marcia C. Linn,et al.  Gender Similarities Characterize Math Performance , 2008, Science.

[6]  Araceli Espinoza,et al.  Examining the Academic Success of Latino Students in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Majors , 2008 .

[7]  Vicki L. Plano Clark,et al.  Examining the cognitive processes used by adolescent girls and women scientists in identifying science role models: A feminist approach , 2008 .

[8]  Christianne Corbett,et al.  Where the Girls Are: The Facts about Gender Equity in Education. Executive Summary. , 2008 .

[9]  Briar Km Ferguson,et al.  Removing Barriers: Women in Academic Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics , 2008 .

[10]  G. Farkas,et al.  SEX, CLASS, AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT: PORTIONS DUE TO ACHIEVEMENT VERSUS RECRUITMENT , 2008 .

[11]  Alice M. Agogino,et al.  Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering , 2007 .

[12]  Kelsey E. Medeiros,et al.  Beyond Bias and Barriers : Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering , 2007 .

[13]  M. Linn,et al.  Gender Similarities in Mathematics and Science , 2006, Science.

[14]  Catherine Riegle-Crumb.  The Path through Math: Course Sequences and Academic Performance at the Intersection of Race‐Ethnicity and Gender , 2006, American Journal of Education.

[15]  Thomas A. DiPrete,et al.  The Growing Female Advantage in College Completion: The Role of Family Background and Academic Achievement , 2006 .

[16]  Catherine Riegle-Crumb,et al.  The Role of Gender and Friendship in Advanced Course Taking , 2006, Sociology of education.

[17]  Robert H. Tai,et al.  Planning Early for Careers in Science , 2006, Science.

[18]  Barbara Schhneider,et al.  Barriers to Educational Opportunities for Hispanics in the United States , 2006 .

[19]  Eugene Anderson,et al.  Increasing the Success of Minority Students in Science and Technology , 2006 .

[20]  Sharon R. Bird,et al.  Removing Barriers: Women in Academic Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics , 2006 .

[21]  M. Tienda,et al.  Hispanics and the Future of America , 2006 .

[22]  N. Augustine.  Rising Above The Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future , 2006 .

[23]  J. Blickenstaff.  Women and science careers: leaky pipeline or gender filter? , 2005 .

[24]  Mary Frank Fox,et al.  Book Review: Women in Science: Career Processes and Outcomes by Yu Xie and Kimberlee A. Shauman. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2003 , 2003 .

[25]  Frederick L. Smyth,et al.  Ethnic and Gender Differences in Science Graduation at Selective Colleges with Implications for Admission Policy and College Choice , 2004 .

[26]  S. L. Hanson,et al.  African American Women in Science: Experiences from High School through the Post-Secondary Years and Beyond , 2004 .

[27]  Susan K. Dyer.  Under the Microscope: A Decade of Gender Equity Projects in the Sciences. , 2004 .

[28]  George Farkas,et al.  The Black-White Test Score Gap , 2004 .

[29]  Frances K. Stage,et al.  Science Achievement Growth Trajectories: Understanding Factors Related to Gender and Racial–Ethnic Differences in Precollege Science Achievement , 2001 .

[30]  Shelley J. Correll,et al.  Gender and the Career Choice Process: The Role of Biased Self‐Assessments1 , 2001, American Journal of Sociology.

[31]  L. Darling-Hammond.  The Challenge of Staffing Our Schools. , 2001 .

[32]  D. Long,et al.  Women's Science: Learning and Succeeding From the Margins , 1999 .

[33]  R. Oaxaca,et al.  Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering. A Life Sequence Analysis. , 1998 .

[34]  William F. Tate,et al.  Race-Ethnicity, SES, Gender, and Language Proficiency Trends in Mathematics Achievement: An Update , 1997 .

[35]  E. Seymour,et al.  Talking About Leaving: Why Undergraduates Leave The Sciences , 1997 .

[36]  Sue V. Rosser,et al.  Re-engineering female friendly science , 1997 .

[37]  Sophia Catsambis,et al.  Gender, race, ethnicity, and science education in the middle grades , 1995 .

[38]  Jacquelynne S. Eccles,et al.  Understanding Women's Educational And Occupational Choices: Applying the Eccles et al. Model of Achievement-Related Choices , 1994 .

[39]  Amy M. Hightower,et al.  Science and Engineering Indicators , 1993 .

[40]  Jeannie Oakes,et al.  Chapter 3: Opportunities, Achievement, and Choice: Women and Minority Students in Science and Mathematics , 1990 .

[41]  T. Hilton,et al.  Student Interest and Persistence in Science: Changes in the Educational Pipeline in the Last Decade. , 1988 .

[42]  Susan F. Chipman,et al.  Women and Mathematics : Balancing the Equation , 1985 .