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Entry and Degree Attainment in STEM: The Intersection of Gender and Race/Ethnicity

Author

Listed:
  • Yingyi Ma

    (Department of Sociology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA)

  • Yan Liu

    (Department of Sociology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA)

Abstract

This study focused on entry to and attainment of bachelor’s degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, by examining gender and race/ethnicity in an intersectional manner and paying particular attention to STEM subfields. The intersectional analysis extends previous research findings that female students are more likely to persist in college once they are in a STEM field and further reveals that racial minority women share the same tendency of persistence with white women. Women and racial minorities are most under-represented in physical-STEM fields. Our analysis reveals that black men would have had the highest probability to graduate in physical-STEM fields, had they had the family socioeconomic background and academic preparations of Asian males. This highlights the critical importance of family socioeconomic background and academic preparations, which improves the odds for STEM degree attainment for all groups. Out of these groups, black students would have experienced the most drastic progress.

Suggested Citation

  • Yingyi Ma & Yan Liu, 2017. "Entry and Degree Attainment in STEM: The Intersection of Gender and Race/Ethnicity," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-17, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:6:y:2017:i:3:p:89-:d:107476
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sharon Sassler & Katherine Michelmore & Kristin Smith, 2017. "A Tale of Two Majors: Explaining the Gender Gap in STEM Employment among Computer Science and Engineering Degree Holders," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-26, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yapeng Wang, 2024. "Understanding Asians’ Success in Pursuing and Completing STEM Degrees," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 65(7), pages 1561-1586, November.
    2. Peter Riley Bahr & Jon McNaughtan & Grant R. Jackson, 2023. "Reducing the Loss of Community College Students who Demonstrate Potential in STEM," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 64(5), pages 675-704, August.

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