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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, a proxy for female-friendliness of environment, 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 11.9pp less likely to graduate within 6 years than their male counterparts. A 1 sd increase in the percentage of female students differentially increases the probability of on-time graduation for women by 4.6pp. These gender peer effects function primarily through changes in the probability of dropping out in the first year of a Ph.D. program and are largest in programs that are typically male-dominated.

Suggested Citation

  • Valerie K. Bostwick & Bruce A. Weinberg, 2018. "Nevertheless She Persisted? Gender Peer Effects in Doctoral STEM Programs," NBER Working Papers 25028, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:25028
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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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