While women are historically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields at the undergraduate level. A recent IZA discussion paper by Judith Delaney and Paul Devereux suggests the gap widens even further for postgraduate programs. The authors analyzed administrative data from Ireland to explore how men and women choose postgraduate programs and how those choices affect their careers.
The results reveal a significant disparity in overall postgraduate enrollment, with women 17% less likely than men to pursue further studies. This gender gap becomes even more pronounced in STEM fields. Women with similar academic backgrounds to men were found to be about 20% less likely to choose a STEM graduate program. Interestingly, the study didn’t find a significant gender difference in business and economics majors at the postgraduate level.
While men were more likely to continue in STEM fields, women gravitated towards programs in education and health. This trend suggests that even after overcoming initial hurdles in undergraduate STEM programs, women may be less likely to pursue advanced degrees in these high-earning fields. Even with similar academic performance, a gender earnings gap of 8% persists at age 33 for graduates. The choice of postgraduate program explains roughly 15% of this disparity.