Variation In Gender Composition Research Articles

Peer gender and mental health

Adolescent mental health is key for later well-being. Yet, causal evidence on environmental drivers of adolescent mental health is scant. We study how an important classroom feature—the gender composition in compulsory-school—affects mental health. We use Swedish administrative data (N = 576,285) to link variation in gender composition across classrooms within cohorts to mental health. We find that a higher share of female peers in a classroom increases the incidence of mental health diagnoses, particularly among boys. The effect persists into adulthood. Peer composition is thus an important and persistent driver of mental health.

The Counteracting Nature of Contextual Influences: Peer Effects and Offsetting Mechanisms in Schools

Abstract There is currently a mismatch between the theoretical expectations of peer effects held by many scholars and the quantitative empirical literature. This paper contributes to the understanding of peer effects by highlighting the oft-overlooked conceptual distinction between social influences and a well-defined causal effect; peers may influence one another via several potentially contradicting mechanisms that result in small overall causal peer effects on educational outcomes. We exploit the idiosyncratic variation in gender composition across cohorts within schools to study offsetting mechanisms. Using population-wide Norwegian register and survey data, we find two distinct ways in which the share of girls in lower secondary schools (grades 8–10) affects academic outcomes. First, more girl peers improve the learning environment at school. Simultaneously, however, more girl peers reduce the students’ motivation for schoolwork. Such results suggest that peer effects stem from a complex process where various mechanisms are at odds with one another, and where the influence of peers on academic outcomes is a composite of different mechanisms. Overall, we find that more girl peers lower students’ school grades and reduce students’ likelihood of attending an academic track in upper secondary school (which qualifies for higher education). Supplementary analyses suggest that the achievement level of girls is the main reason for the gender peer effects found in our study.

Nevertheless She Persisted? Gender Peer Effects in Doctoral STEM Programs.

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 11.7pp less likely to graduate within 6 years than their male counterparts. A 1 sd increase in the percentage of female students differentially increases women's probability of on-time graduation by 4.4pp. These gender peer effects function primarily through changes in the probability of dropping out in the first year of a Ph.D. program.

Exposure to More Female Peers Widens the Gender Gap in STEM Participation

We investigate how high school gender composition affects students’ participation in STEM at college. Using Danish administrative data, we exploit idiosyncratic within-school variation in gender composition. We find that having a larger proportion of female peers reduces women’s probability of enrolling in and graduating from STEM programs. Men’s STEM participation increases with more female peers present. In the long run, women exposed to more female peers are less likely to work in STEM occupations, earn less, and have more children. Our findings show that the school peer environment has lasting effects on occupational sorting, the gender wage gap, and fertility.

Peer gender and educational choices

We use idiosyncratic variation in gender composition across cohorts within Norwegian lower secondary schools to analyze the impact of female peers on students’ educational choices. We find that having more female peers in lower secondary school increases the probability of choosing STEM over language subjects in upper secondary school for both girls and boys. It also increases the probability of choosing a vocational track instead of an academic track. Registry data and survey evidence suggest that potential mechanisms are related to relative performance in STEM subjects, as well as less gender discrimination for girls and increased willingness to compete for boys.

Exposure to More Female Peers Widens the Gender Gap in Stem Participation

This paper investigates how high school gender composition affects students’ participation in STEM at college. Using Danish administrative data, we exploit idiosyncratic within-school variation in gender composition. We find that having a larger proportion of female peers reduces women’s probability of enrolling in and graduating from STEM programs. Men’s STEM participation increases with more female peers present. In the long run, women exposed to more female peers are less likely to work in STEM occupations, earn less, and have more children. Our findings show that the school peer environment has lasting effects on occupational sorting, the gender wage gap, and fertility.

Exposure to More Female Peers Widens the Gender Gap in STEM Participation

This paper investigates how high school gender composition affects students' participation in STEM at college. Using Danish administrative data, we exploit idiosyncratic within-school variation in gender composition. We find that having a larger proportion of female peers reduces women's probability of enrolling in and graduating from STEM programs. Men's STEM participation increases with more female peers present. In the long run, women exposed to more female peers are less likely to work in STEM occupations, earn less, and have more children. Our findings show that the school peer environment has lasting effects on occupational sorting, the gender wage gap, and fertility.

Does the Girl Next Door Affect Your Academic Outcomes and Career Choices?

Gender peer effects are potentially important for optimally organizing schools and neighborhoods. In this paper, we examine how the gender of classmates and neighbors affects a variety of high school outcomes and choice of university major. Given that students are assigned to schools based on proximity from their residential address, we define as neighbors all same-cohort peers who attend any other school within a 1-mile radius of one's school. To control for potentially confounding unobserved characteristics of schools and neighborhoods that might be correlated with peer gender composition, we exploit within-school and -neighborhood idiosyncratic variation in gender composition share across consecutive cohorts in the 12th grade. Using data for the universe of students in public schools in Greece between 2004 and 2009, we find that a higher share of females in a school or neighborhood improves both genders' subsequent scholastic performance, increases their university matriculation rates, renders them more likely to enroll in an academic university than a technical school, and affects their choice of university study. In addition, we find that only females are more likely to enroll in STEM degrees and target more lucrative occupations when they have more female peers in school or neighborhood. Based on our back-of-the-envelope calculations, a 10 percentage point increase in the proportion of females in a school or neighborhood reduces the gender gap in STEM enrollments by 2% and 3%, respectively. We also find that (1) neighborhood peer effects are as large as school peer effects, and (2) the effects are nonlinear-namely, the effects are larger for school and neighborhood cohorts with a large majority of female peers.

Girls Helping Girls: The Impact of Female Peers on Grades and Educational Choices

We use idiosyncratic variation in gender composition across cohorts within Norwegian lower-secondary schools to analyze the impact of female peers on students' grades and choices of STEM subjects. We find that more female peers in lower secondary increases girls' probability of choosing STEM-courses in upper secondary, and the effect on choices is larger than the effect on grades. Survey evidence suggests that a potential mechanism is an improved classroom environment. Boys' performance is negatively affected by more female peers. They also start upper secondary later and more often choose vocational studies.

Girls Helping Girls - The Impact of Female Peers on Grades and Educational Choices

We use idiosyncratic variation in gender composition across cohorts within Norwegian lower-secondary schools to analyze the impact of female peers on students’ grades and choices of typical masculine subjects (STEM subjects). We find that girls’ performance in mathematics and science increases slightly. Survey evidence suggests that a potential mechanism is an improved classroom environment. More female peers have a larger effect on choices than on performance. Improved performance in STEM subjects can only account for around 20-30 percent of the effects on choices. Instead, the evidence indicates that the mechanism is related to gender norms.

Explaining the Variation in Gender Composition of Personnel Contributions to UN Peacekeeping Operations

How do we account for the dearth of female contributions to UN peace operations (UNPOs)? For answers, this study examines conditions that led the United Nations to move to reduce the gender imbalance in UNPO personnel and provides descriptive evidence that points to the continuing underrepresentation of women in these operations. To interpret this evidence, the study presents theoretical explanations for the varying contributions of personnel to UNPOs—including the political and socioeconomic character of the contributing states, international reputations and norms, and various demand-side influences exerted by missions—and then tests these explanations with a cross-sectional time-series model that accounts for female personnel contributions to each mission in the 2010–2011 period. Although offering significant support for domestic political explanations, the findings indicate that gender diversity is not a primary goal of most contributors and is largely a by-product of force sizes.

The Quiet Revolution and the Family: Gender Composition of Tertiary Education and Early Fertility Patterns

It is well known that highly `female' fields of study in tertiary education are characterized by higher fertility. However, existing work does not disentangle the selection-causality nexus. We use variation in gender composition of fields of study implied by the recent expansion of tertiary education in 19 European countries and a difference-in-differences research design, to show that the share of women on study peer groups affects early fertility levels only little. Early fertility by endogamous couples, i.e., by tertiary graduates from the same field of study, declines for women and increases for men with the share of women in the group, but non-endogamous fertility almost fully compensates for these effects, consistent with higher early fertility in highly `female' fields of study being driven by selection of family-oriented students into these fields. We also show that the EU-wide level of gender segregation across fields of study has not changed since 2000.

The Quiet Revolution and the Family: Gender Composition of Tertiary Education and Early Fertility Patterns

It is well known that highly 'female'…elds of study in tertiary education are char- acterized by higher fertility. However, existing work does not disentangle the selection- causality nexus. We use variation in gender composition of …elds of study implied by the recent expansion of tertiary education in 19 European countries and a dierence- in-dierences research design, to show that the share of women on study peer groups aects early fertility levels only little. Early fertility by endogamous couples, i.e., by tertiary graduates from the same …eld of study, declines for women and increases for men with the share of women in the group, but non-endogamous fertility almost fully compensates for these eects, consistent with higher early fertility in highly 'female' …elds of study being driven by selection of family-oriented students into these …elds. We also show that the EU-wide level of gender segregation across …elds of study has

Mechanisms and Impacts of Gender Peer Effects at School

We present in this paper evidence about the effects and mechanisms of gender peer effects in elementary, middle, and high schools. For identification, we rely on idiosyncratic variations in gender composition across adjacent cohorts within the same schools. We find that an increase in the proportion of girls improves boys and girls' cognitive outcomes. These academic gains are mediated through lower levels of classroom disruption and violence, improved inter-student and student-teacher relationships, and lessened teachers' fatigue. We find no effect on individual behavior, which suggests that the positive effects of girls on classroom environment are mostly due to compositional change. (JEL I21, J16)

Sexual composition of populations of Fragaria virginiana (Rosaceae) collected from Minnesota and western Wisconsin

Populations of Fragaria virginiana Miller collected from 39 sites in Minnesota and western Wisconsin were gynodioecious, in that 35% of the plants were pistillate, 65% were hermaphroditic with perfect flowers, and none were staminate, when scored for gender expression in greenhouse or field plantings. Instability of gender expression across environments was apparent in 15% of the collections and these genotypes that appeared to change gender were termed weak hermaphrodites. Variation in gender composition of collections was not related in any consistent manner with the plant communities characterizing the collection sites. The proportions of pistillate plants, total hermaphrodites, strong hermaphrodites, and weak hermaphrodites in collections from the northern forest floristic province in the northeastern part of the region were not significantly different from those of collections from the southwestern prairie-forest floristic region, although collections from the prairie-forest province were more variable for gender composition than populations from the northern forest province. Lack of staminate plants and increased percentages of hermaphrodite plants, relative to reports in the literature, suggest that the gender composition of F. virginiana populations in Minnesota has changed, perhaps as a result of introgression from hermaphroditic Fragaria ×ananassa or Fragaria vesca. Key words: Fragaria chiloensis, Fragaria vesca, Fragaria ×ananassa, dioecy, introgression, evolution.