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Introduction. Although the demand for graduates with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) credentials continues to climb, women remain underrepresented as both students and faculty in STEM higher education. Compounding social forces can hinder organizational change for gender equity in STEM, constraining institutions and individuals within them. This study advances macrostructural theory to examine the impact of gender composition (including group size and heterogeneity) of women faculty on structural change, as measured by gender desegregation of STEM degree earners. We advance this theory by incorporating faculty, rather than treating group composition as a static category. Method. This study draws on a federal repository of data to assess institutional change in the share of STEM women faculty in the U.S. We employ quasi-experimental methods to explore the following research questions: (1) does hiring more women onto an institution’s faculty roster shrink the gender gap among STEM degree earners? and (2) does segregation of faculty by gender within institutions shape the gender gap among STEM degree earners? Findings. While institutional efforts herald their efforts of hiring more women faculty, our findings indicate that gender desegregation of STEM degree earners partially depends on the promotion of women faculty to tenure. Discussion. Implications for theory, policy, and practice are discussed, with a focus on institutional-level change.<
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Last Place? The Intersection of Ethnicity, Gender, and Race in Biomedical Authorship
Applying big data methods to biomedical science articles, we show that women and underrepresented racial and ethnic groups are less likely to be last authors, an indicator of career independence. We leverage the massive size of our data to highlight the importance of intersectionality, the idea that ethnicity, gender, and race are not necessarily additive, but interact to determine experiences and outcomes. In particular, gender gaps are smaller among blacks and Hispanics than among non-Hispanic whites. Our analysis is timely given serious concerns with under-representation of women and minorities in biomedicine and other STEM fields.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1661278
- PAR ID:
- 10089376
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- AEA Papers and Proceedings
- Volume:
- 108
- ISSN:
- 2574-0768
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 222 to 27
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1257/pandp.20181111
