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Nevertheless She Persisted? Gender Peer Effects in Doctoral STEM Programs

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  • Valerie K. Bostwick
  • Bruce A. Weinberg

Abstract

We study the effects of peer gender composition in STEM doctoral programs on persistence and degree completion. Leveraging unique new data and quasi-random variation in gender composition across cohorts within programs, we show that women entering cohorts with no female peers are 11.7 percentage points less likely to graduate within 6 years than their male counterparts. A 1 standard deviation increase in the percentage of female students differentially increases women’s probability of on-time graduation by 4.4 percentage points. These gender peer effects function primarily through changes in the probability of dropping out in a PhD program’s first year.

Suggested Citation

  • Valerie K. Bostwick & Bruce A. Weinberg, 2022. "Nevertheless She Persisted? Gender Peer Effects in Doctoral STEM Programs," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 40(2), pages 397-436.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:doi:10.1086/714921
    DOI: 10.1086/714921
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights

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