Persistence and Representation of Women in STEM Programs. Insights on Canadian Society

Autor/in	Wall, Katherine
Institution	Statistics Canada
Titel	Persistence and Representation of Women in STEM Programs. Insights on Canadian Society
Quelle	(2019), (18 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
ISSN	2291-0840
Schlagwörter	STEM Education; Females; Womens Education; Gender Bias; College Students; Academic Persistence; Gender Differences; Graduates; Majors (Students); Time to Degree; Foreign Countries; Disproportionate Representation; Canada + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? STEM; Weibliches Geschlecht; 'Women''s education'; Frauenbildung; Geschlechterstereotyp; Collegestudent; Geschlechterkonflikt; Graduate; Absolvent; Absolventin; Hochschulabsolvent; Hochschulabsolventin; Ausland; Kanada
Abstract	The underrepresentation of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and computer science) has attracted considerable attention, and many have wondered whether women are more likely than men to quit STEM programs at university. Using data from the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform (ELMLP), this study follows a cohort of students who enrolled in a STEM program in 2010 over a number of years, in order to see the extent to which women and men persist in and eventually graduate from STEM programs. Findings from the study include: (1) Women made up 44% of first-year STEM students aged 19 or less in undergraduate degree programs in 2010, whereas they accounted for more than 64% of students in BHASE, or non-STEM, programs (including business, humanities, health, arts, social science and education, among others); (2) Among those who were first-year students in a STEM undergraduate program in 2010, 66% of women and 72% of men remained in a STEM program (as students or graduates) as of 2015. About 23% of women and 12% of men transferred from a STEM to a BHASE program, and 11% of women and 16% of men left undergraduate studies; (3) Some women who were initially in a BHASE program also switched into a STEM program; as a result, the proportion of women among STEM graduates or sixth-year students in 2015 was similar (43%) to that of first-year STEM students in 2010 (44%); (4) Women who transferred from a STEM to a BHASE program generally chose BHASE fields related to their initial STEM major: for example, transferring from biological sciences to health care, or from mathematics and related studies to finance; (5) Persistence varied across STEM programs. About 82% of women and 77% of men in engineering remained in the same program over the period. This compared with 9% of women and men in general and integrated sciences, where many students eventually moved to a more specific STEM program or a BHASE program; and (6) Women graduated faster than men from STEM programs, regardless of field of study. For example, 27% of women and 16% of men who started out in computer and information sciences completed a STEM degree within four years. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Statistics Canada. 150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway, Ottawa, ON K1A 0T6, Canada. Tel: 800-307-3382; Fax: 613-951-4441; e-mail: educationstats@statcan.gc.ca; Web site: http://www.statcan.gc.ca
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01