ERIC Number: EJ1394949
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2156-8235
EISSN: EISSN-2156-8243
Available Date: N/A
Gender Differences in the Labour Market Entry of STEM Graduates
Schwerter, Jakob; Ilg, Lena
European Journal of Higher Education, v13 n3 p308-326 2023
Many women do not work in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations even though they have degrees in these subjects. To shed light on this problem, we use information from the German Graduate Panel and show a significant gender gap among STEM graduates working in degree-related occupations after graduation. Therefore, we focus on university graduates' transition into the labour market and include male and female non-STEM and STEM graduates. We find that male STEM graduates are more likely to work in a degree-related field than other men. A gender gap in degree-related work in STEM occupations shows that this is not the case for women. Separating STEM into engineering and computer science (EngComp) and mathematics and natural sciences (MatNat) shows that EngComp graduates are the main driver of the STEM effects. The estimations remain robust to a comprehensive set of individual background information. Moreover, bearing children before graduation or at the beginning of one's professional career does not explain the lower entry behaviour of female EngComp graduates. Possible channels for why women with an EngComp degree are not as likely as men to start their professional life in an EngComp occupation are discussed.
Descriptors: Gender Differences, Labor Market, STEM Education, College Graduates, STEM Careers, Outcomes of Education, Engineering Education, Computer Science Education, Mathematics Education, Science Education, Intellectual Disciplines, Individual Characteristics, Foreign Countries, Disproportionate Representation, Gender Bias, Equal Opportunities (Jobs), Child Rearing
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A