Executive Summary

• Author: McNally, Sandra
• Pages: 3-4

3

Executive Summary

Although the share of women achieving tertiary educati on has increased rapidly

over time and now exceeds that of men, women are severely under-represented in

maths-intensive science fi elds (generally known as STEM or Science Technology

Engineering and Maths). More detailed subject breakdowns suggest that female und er-

representation is more severe in some of these subject areas than in others and there

are some science fields where wom en are over-represented ( such as life sciences).

There is considerable scope to improve European data by further disaggregation by field

of study. On account of the high economic importance attached to maths-intensive

science fields, much attention has been devoted to trying to understand the reasons for

the gender gap. This report summarises recent literature, with a particular focus on

papers within economics.

As students need prerequisites to enter STEM programmes, the gender gap i n

tertiary education results partly from factors that are evident before that time and which

influence ‘educational preparedness’. This encompasses general educational

achievement, achievement in mathemati cal subjects (whi ch are important for many

STEM programmes), comparative advantage in subjects requiring mathemati cal versus

literacy proficiency and course-taking in upper secondary education. Many studies

suggest a rather limited role for educational preparedness in recent times (especially

for the US), although course-t aking within up per secondary educati on has been found

to play a major role in some countries (such as Ireland and Canada).

Some studies point to interesting variation between countries with regard to test

scores at ag e 15 (ref lected in PISA) and th e gender gap in STEM at terti ary level. For

example, som e Scandinavi an countries (e.g. Finland) are noted for their high gender

equality and relative performance of girls in science literacy in PISA, and yet have a

relatively large gender gap (favouring males) in STEM college degrees. This is known as

the ‘gender equality paradox’. Recent studies suggest one should be cautious about

interpreting patterns that arise from cross-secti onal studies. Hypotheses have been

overturned by pooling data from countries over time, with the ability to control for

institutional/cultural features that remain broadly constant.

‘Educational preparedness’ is i tself an outcome of many other individual and

societal factors, some of w hich also come into play among those who are highl y ‘STEM

ready’ by the end of upper secondary education. These include confidence in one’s own

ability and self-efficacy in particular subjects. A common finding in the literature is that

even very high-achieving females are often h eld back by these fa ctors. Also relevant

(and related) is the ‘female friendliness’ of edu cational environments and the extent to

which gender stereotypes are salient. This includes whether fields are perceived to lead

to work that is ‘people-orientated’ or ‘thing-orientated’ as there is a marked gender

difference in such preferences. There is a vast literature showing the importance of such

factors for influencing field of study and/or ‘educational p reparedness’ for subsequent

choices. As these factors work cumulatively and in combination, there is no single factor

that can be recommended to change these patterns in a substantial way. Furth ermore,

an apparently similar poli cy change can have different effects in different contexts.

Policy design therefore needs to be sensitive to the country and specific educational

system.

However, there are some common themes with policy relevance that emerge

from the l iterature review. Firstly, as it is often the case that girls have a poorer

perception of their own ability in maths-intensive subjects wi thin the classroom, it is

important that they have b etter awareness of how th ey stand among a broader cohort

of students and that a ‘growth mindset’ pedagogy is encouraged. Secondly, females