Understanding Asians’ Success in Pursuing and Completing STEM Degrees

Despite decades of national efforts to increase students’ participation and success in STEM, bachelor’s degrees in STEM continue to notably lag the labor force demand. Asian students represent one group that disproportionately contributes to the share of STEM degrees. Understanding their experiences can help to illuminate ways of increasing STEM success overall. This study focuses on two research questions: (1) How do Asian women and men fare compared to their White counterparts regarding two outcomes: STEM major preference and STEM degree attainment? (2) How do a host of academic and psycho-social factors contribute to the observed gender-race differences in the two outcomes? Analyses from Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 indicate that compared to White men, Asian men are more likely to prefer a STEM major, whereas Asian women are less likely to do so. However, Asian women are more likely to prefer a STEM major than White women. The Asian-White differences within each gender group are fully explained, albeit through distinct mechanisms for men and women. When it comes to STEM degree attainment, there are no differences between Asians of both genders and White men. However, White women have a lower likelihood of pursuing STEM degrees compared to White men, even after considering a host of mediators. The findings reveal different mechanisms that contribute to the observed differences and highlight the importance of simultaneously considering race and gender for understanding inequalities in STEM education.