- Gender Gap in Computer Science Education
- Gender Gap in Mathematics
- Gender Gap in Physics
- Gender Gap in Science

Gender Gap in STEM Education - by Discipline

- Distal social factors
- Proximal factors


Factors that Influence the Gender Gap in STEM Education 

- Women are more likely to leave the STEM majors than men. 
- Most undergraduate students leave STEM within the first two years of their degree. 
- Early research shows that negative classroom culture is the cause of why so many students leave the major. Negative classroom culture: poorly teaching styles and highly competitive environment, which therefore lead to a loss of interest in STEM and eventually causes them to leave the major (Seymour 1995). 
- However, the social cognitive career theory found that loss of interest is not a cause of negative classroom culture, rather it is influenced by the students' confidence in the ability to succeed in STEM (self-efficacy) and their outcome expectations. 

Reasons why students leave STEM majors

This node categorizes academic literature, reports, and studies related to the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

References for Gender Gap in STEM

San Jose State University

Persistent and significant gaps in academic performance and/or educational attainment between male and female students.

Gender Gap in Education

Males of all racial and ethnic groups are more likely than females to receive disciplinary sanctions.
- Only 1% of Asian Pacific Islander females were suspended, compared with 11% of Asian Pacific Islander males (KewelRamani et al., 2007).
- White females were half as likely to be expelled as White males (p < .001)
- Black females were half as likely to be expelled as Black males (p < .05)
- Black males are 16 times more likely to be suspended than White females.

Gender Achievement Gap and Discipline Gap

- “‘Matilda effect’”-a matthew effect in science that has historically promoted cumulative male advantage and female disadvantage through the operation of old-boy networks and other discriminatory practices” 
- People argue that the matthew effect has made it much harder for women to advance in the science fields because small injustices in the evaluation of female work lead to larger and larger differences in the advancement of their careers (in comparison to men)

matilda effect (matthew effect in science)

- Females generally have better study habits than males
- Females prefer highlighting text more than males
- Females trend towards preferring small group teaching more than males
- Females trend towards preferring doing internet research more than males
- Females prefer studying in the morning while males prefer studying during the evening or at night
- Females generally study more than males per day regardless of when the exam is
- Males generally delay starting to study later than females (procrastination)
- Male traits correlate with better study strategies than female traits

Differences in study habits based on gender

Goal-setting interventions decreases the academic achievement gap between male and female students.

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