A new working paper authored by a team at Georgetown University finds that negative feedback, in the form of bad grades, is not enough on its own to drive women out of their major, neither is the environment. However when these factors compound to give multiple signals of lack of fit in a major (low grades, gender composition of the class, external stereotyping signals), women leave STEM at higher rates then men. Read the original report at the National Bureau of Economic Research and the featured summary on Inside Higher Ed. This reinforces a strong multi-faceted approach that addresses interest, retention, and climate is necessary to increase the persistance and participation of women in STEM.
Why Women Leave STEM? New paper.
Research suggests women may be drawn more to collaborative and interdisciplinary research. Lehigh ADVANCE will shed light on to what extent and how interdisciplinary work is gendered, not only in terms of participation but in terms of outcomes.