Gender differences of graduate students within science and non-science fields

Abstract

More women than ever are majoring in the sciences at the undergraduate level. But few are staying in sciences at the graduate level. To explore the possible reason for this phenomena, in this study I explored factors that may contribute to graduate students' decisions to enter the historically male-dominated graduate field of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and compare them to non-STEM graduate students. Specifically, I examined how men and women graduate students in STEM and non- STEM differ on these personal and environmental factors. This study surveyed 227 graduate students within STEM and non-STEM programs. The results suggest that women are more influenced by value preferences than men in both programs. Graduate students in non-STEM fields were more interested in their fields than STEM graduate students. Compared to men, women in both fields also received more positive influences from their teachers regarding their graduate field choice.