Working Paper: NBER ID: w15853
Authors: Jennifer Hunt
Abstract: I use the 1993 and 2003 National Surveys of College Graduates to examine the higher exit rate of women compared to men from science and engineering relative to other fields. I find that the higher relative exit rate is driven by engineering rather than science, and show that 60% of the gap can be explained by the relatively greater exit rate from engineering of women dissatisfied with pay and promotion opportunities. Contrary to the existing literature, I find that family-related constraints and dissatisfaction with working conditions are only secondary factors. My results differ due to my use of non-science and engineering fields as a comparison group. The relative exit rate by gender from engineering does not differ from that of other fields once women's relatively high exit rates from male fields generally is taken into account.
Keywords: women; science; engineering; exit rates; dissatisfaction
JEL Codes: J16; J62; J71
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| dissatisfaction with pay and promotion (J62) | higher exit rate for women in science and engineering (J79) |
| family-related constraints (J12) | exit rates (J63) |
| dissatisfaction with working conditions (J81) | exit rates (J63) |
| higher exit rates for women in male-dominated fields (J79) | gender gap in exit rates does not differ significantly (J79) |