Major Matters: Exploration of the Gender Wage Gap Among STEM Graduates

Major Matters: Exploration of the Gender Wage Gap Among STEM Graduates PDF Author: Kyung Min Lim
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 118

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Book Description
The gender pay gap has been a persistent issue in American workplaces, and the STEM fields have been no exception (Carnevale, Smith & Melton, 2011). For example, in the Silicon Valley, the heart of high-tech industries, the median salary of workers with a bachelor's degree was approximately $90,000 for men and $56,000 for women (Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies, 2015). Such observations are likely to discourage many young women from pursuing careers in STEM. The majority of STEM workers are college graduates with degrees in STEM fields, as those credentials are typically required for individuals seeking STEM occupations (Graham & Smith, 2005). However, even students earning degrees in the same STEM field may face gender inequity in salary once they are on the job. Despite all that we know about the gender pay gap broadly speaking, few higher education researchers have empirically examined the gender wage inequality exclusive to STEM-trained college graduates. The purpose of this study was to examine the gender wage gap that is specific to STEM college graduates, a population in high demand in the American labor market. To do so, this study used data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), specifically the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study for the 2008-2012 cohort (B&B:08/12). Using this nationally representative data, this study examined how individuals' background characteristics, education-related experiences, and occupation-related experiences significantly predicted salaries of men and women with STEM degrees. In addition, the study assessed the degree to which these predictors of salary explained why female STEM graduates earned less than their male counterparts. The results of this study showed that, in the early career stage, female STEM graduates earn less than their male counterparts, suggesting that women still face wage disadvantages (in comparison to men) even when they do select to study and receive a degree in the same STEM field. The study also found that some salary determinants such as the number of children and parents' income level impacted salaries of men and women in different ways. Lastly, the findings of this study showed that education-related experiences (i.e., college major, the extent to which college major and job were related, and the level of graduate degree earned) explained the majority of the gender wage gap among these STEM graduates, but a portion of the gender wage gap was still left unexplained. In light of these findings, this study considers implications for policy and practice related to the gender wage gap in STEM.

Major Matters: Exploration of the Gender Wage Gap Among STEM Graduates

Major Matters: Exploration of the Gender Wage Gap Among STEM Graduates PDF Author: Kyung Min Lim
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 118

Get Book Here

Book Description
The gender pay gap has been a persistent issue in American workplaces, and the STEM fields have been no exception (Carnevale, Smith & Melton, 2011). For example, in the Silicon Valley, the heart of high-tech industries, the median salary of workers with a bachelor's degree was approximately $90,000 for men and $56,000 for women (Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies, 2015). Such observations are likely to discourage many young women from pursuing careers in STEM. The majority of STEM workers are college graduates with degrees in STEM fields, as those credentials are typically required for individuals seeking STEM occupations (Graham & Smith, 2005). However, even students earning degrees in the same STEM field may face gender inequity in salary once they are on the job. Despite all that we know about the gender pay gap broadly speaking, few higher education researchers have empirically examined the gender wage inequality exclusive to STEM-trained college graduates. The purpose of this study was to examine the gender wage gap that is specific to STEM college graduates, a population in high demand in the American labor market. To do so, this study used data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), specifically the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study for the 2008-2012 cohort (B&B:08/12). Using this nationally representative data, this study examined how individuals' background characteristics, education-related experiences, and occupation-related experiences significantly predicted salaries of men and women with STEM degrees. In addition, the study assessed the degree to which these predictors of salary explained why female STEM graduates earned less than their male counterparts. The results of this study showed that, in the early career stage, female STEM graduates earn less than their male counterparts, suggesting that women still face wage disadvantages (in comparison to men) even when they do select to study and receive a degree in the same STEM field. The study also found that some salary determinants such as the number of children and parents' income level impacted salaries of men and women in different ways. Lastly, the findings of this study showed that education-related experiences (i.e., college major, the extent to which college major and job were related, and the level of graduate degree earned) explained the majority of the gender wage gap among these STEM graduates, but a portion of the gender wage gap was still left unexplained. In light of these findings, this study considers implications for policy and practice related to the gender wage gap in STEM.

Major Matters

Major Matters PDF Author: Laurie A. Morgan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
I use data from the 1993 National Survey of College Graduates and appended 1990 Census on about 11,000 men and women college graduates (8400 with bachelor's degrees only, and 2800 with graduate degrees) who earned degrees in a 5-year period (1984-1988), to address questions regarding the link between college major and early-career gender pay differentials. I look at within-major gender pay differentials for two groups of college graduates: those whose highest degrees are bachelor's and those who hold graduate degrees. Among those whose highest degrees are bachelor's, I find that within-major gender pay penalties are virtually zero for professional majors. Gender pay penalties are large for general studies majors: social sciences, history, and humanities, and business administration (except accounting). For these, jobs account for a large portion of the unexplained gap. Among individuals who hold graduate degrees, I find that within-major gender pay penalties are zero for all fields. My findings suggest that pay penalties to women in the aggregate can be traced to relatively large penalties in a couple of key fields (bachelor's degree-level general studies fields): social sciences and humanities, and business administration (except accounting). These findings are important, as they contradict the prevailing view. Existing empirical research suggests that women are uniformly disadvantaged compared to men regardless of field of study and, thus, field of study explains little or none of the gender gap in pay. I conclude that supply-side mechanisms are important factors in producing gender inequality among college graduates, and suggest that we further focus our attention on the supply side in understanding segregation and gender pay inequality.

The Oxford Handbook of Women and the Economy

The Oxford Handbook of Women and the Economy PDF Author: Susan L. Averett
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190878266
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 889

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Book Description
The transformation of women's lives over the past century is among the most significant and far-reaching of social and economic phenomena, affecting not only women but also their partners, children, and indeed nearly every person on the planet. In developed and developing countries alike, women are acquiring more education, marrying later, having fewer children, and spending a far greater amount of their adult lives in the labor force. Yet, because women remain the primary caregivers of children, issues such as work-life balance and the glass ceiling have given rise to critical policy discussions in the developed world. In developing countries, many women lack access to reproductive technology and are often relegated to jobs in the informal sector, where pay is variable and job security is weak. Considerable occupational segregation and stubborn gender pay gaps persist around the world. The Oxford Handbook of Women and the Economy is the first comprehensive collection of scholarly essays to address these issues using the powerful framework of economics. Each chapter, written by an acknowledged expert or team of experts, reviews the key trends, surveys the relevant economic theory, and summarizes and critiques the empirical research literature. By providing a clear-eyed view of what we know, what we do not know, and what the critical unanswered questions are, this Handbook provides an invaluable and wide-ranging examination of the many changes that have occurred in women's economic lives.

The Wiley Handbook of Gender Equity in Higher Education

The Wiley Handbook of Gender Equity in Higher Education PDF Author: Nancy S. Niemi
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 111925759X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 550

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Book Description
Research into gender equity in higher education, inspiring action With this enlightening handbook, you can review the thinking of leading researchers on the current intersection of gender and higher education. The Wiley Handbook of Gender Equity in Higher Education provides an in-depth look at education's complicated relationships with, and in some cases inadequate fostering of, gender equity. The collection offers a bold picture of research into the subject. It also projects future paths of exploration, inquiry, and action for gender equity. Focuses specifically on gender and higher education across the globe, setting the stage for new explorations Examines gender equity in relation to the STEM fields Considers current male participation in higher education Covers gender segregation by major and the issue of women remaining in lower-paying areas The Wiley Handbook of Gender Equity in Higher Education spotlights the continuing and integral role of educational institutions in the struggle for gender equity. Policy makers, university administrators, and researchers can look to this handbook for perspective on recent research as they move forward in the pursuit of more equitable educational environments.

Solving the Equation

Solving the Equation PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781879922457
Category : Women engineers
Languages : en
Pages : 141

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Book Description
The book focuses on the underrepresentation of women in engineering and computing and provides practical ideas for educators and employers seeking to foster gender diversity. From new ways of conceptualizing the fields for beginning students to good management practices, the report recommends large and small actions that can add up to real change.

Gender and STEM: Understanding Segregation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Gender and STEM: Understanding Segregation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics PDF Author: Maria Charles
Publisher: MDPI
ISBN: 3038971472
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Gender and STEM: Understanding Segregation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics" that was published in Social Sciences

The Wage Gap

The Wage Gap PDF Author: Noël Merino
Publisher: Greenhaven Publishing LLC
ISBN: 0737768924
Category : Young Adult Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
This volume's collected essays present issues related to the wage gap, including problems with the wage gap between men and women, the wage gap as a rich and poor problem, and the wage gap among races. Essays also debate whether education is key to reducing the wage gap. Students are encouraged to see the validity of divergent opinions, so that they may understand issues inclusively. Fact boxes are included to summarize important information for researchers.

Women of Color In STEM

Women of Color In STEM PDF Author: Beverly Irby
Publisher: IAP
ISBN: 1648023711
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 181

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Book Description
Though there has been a rapid increase of women’s representation in law and business, their representation in STEM fields has not been matched. Researchers have revealed that there are several environmental and social barriers including stereotypes, gender bias, and the climate of science and engineering departments in colleges and universities that continue to block women’s progress in STEM. In this book, the authors address the issues that encounter women of color in STEM in higher education.

Cracking the code

Cracking the code PDF Author: UNESCO
Publisher: UNESCO Publishing
ISBN: 9231002333
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 82

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Book Description
This report aims to 'crack the code' by deciphering the factors that hinder and facilitate girls' and women's participation, achievement and continuation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and, in particular, what the education sector can do to promote girls' and women's interest in and engagement with STEM education and ultimately STEM careers.

Exploring Inequality: A Sociological Approach

Exploring Inequality: A Sociological Approach PDF Author: Jenny M. Stuber
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISBN: 1071815679
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 572

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Book Description
Now Published by SAGE! In Exploring Inequality: A Sociological Approach, author Jenny M. Stuber examines the socially constructed nature of our identities, the processes by which we acquire them, prejudice and privilege, and the unequal outcomes they produce within institutions. By employing both micro-level and macro-level perspectives, as well as integrating intersectional analysis in every chapter, this text provides a solid and effective framework for understanding social diversity and inequality. The updated Second Edition features a strong introductory chapter reviewing key theories and concepts, real-world examples, social problems and their solutions, and better visuals to help students gain a comprehensive understanding of social inequality. Included with this text The online resources for your text are available via the password-protected Instructor Resource Site.