Abstract
The representation of women among STEM doctorates has grown over the past decades but the underrepresentation of women in the STEM labor force persists. This paper examines the immediate post-degree employment outcomes of nine cohorts of STEM doctorates who attained their degrees between 1995 and 2013. The results reveal both progress toward gender equity and persistent inequities. Contrary to historical gender disparities, a small female advantage has emerged in the attainment of tenure-track faculty positions, women are increasingly less likely than men to enter postdoctoral positions, and the flow of STEM doctorates into business and industry, which was once male dominated, is now gender neutral. Among the doctorates who do not follow the doctorate-to-faculty career path, women are as likely as men to “stay in STEM,” but less likely to attain research-oriented jobs. Gender segregation in occupational attainment and significant gender gaps in earnings, however, continue to be defining characteristics of the STEM labor force. The results show that the labor market disparities vary across STEM fields but are largely not attributable to the gendered impact of parenthood and dual-career marriage.
Highlights
The representation of women among doctorates in science, technology, engineering and mathematical (STEM) fields has grown significantly over the past decades [1] but the underrepresentation of women in the STEM labor force persists [2]
After controlling for all covariates, the gender gap in salary is significant only for doctorates who are childless, for whom there can be no effect of parenthood, and those who have spouses who work part-time or not at all, for whom dual-career conflicts should be minimal. This analysis provides some insight into the gender disparities that characterize the transition of STEM doctorates to the labor market and that may affect their subsequent career trajectories
Among the nine cohorts of STEM doctorates who earned their degrees between 1995 and 2013, I find that women are less likely than men to enter the labor force and work full-time, and that these disparities are consistent across STEM fields and have changed only slightly across the cohorts
Summary
The representation of women among doctorates in science, technology, engineering and mathematical (STEM) fields has grown significantly over the past decades [1] but the underrepresentation of women in the STEM labor force persists [2]. The observed gender inequalities in the STEM labor force are generated by myriad influences and sorting processes operating continuously throughout the life course [3], but recent evidence points to the critical and long-term impacts of the immediate post-degree transitions. A primary cause of the continued underrepresentation of women among recent cohorts of research university faculty is that women may be less likely than men to apply for faculty positions [4,5]. I focus on the transition to the labor market within two years of Ph.D
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