Using original survey data from parents of children in kindergarten through junior high school in Tokyo, Japan, we find that parents exhibit stronger preferences for sons over daughters to participate in extracurricular STEM activities, with the gender gap widening as children age. Parents...

The five case studies detailed in this document describe a variety of contexts in which measures are being implemented to attract, recruit, retain, and advance women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) roles in the infrastructure sectors. The area of focus for each of...

This short note summarizes some of the findings from an extensive literature review, a global stocktaking exercise, key informant interviews, and five case studies in order to provide World Bank Group project teams with insights that they can use to support women's science, technology,...

Purpose - This paper aims to explore the motivations behind women in a developing South Asian country - Sri Lanka - to embark on entrepreneurship in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, which is a doubly masculine hegemony operating within a culturally nuanced gendered...

We analyze whether men and women respond differently to tuition variation for both university entry and STEM major choice, using a 30-year Australian individual-level administrative dataset. The Australian setting is unique: tuition fees are regulated, students can defer payment through...

Women account for only 35% of global STEM graduates, a share that has remained unchanged for a decade. We use administrative microdata from centralized university admissions in ten systems to deliver the first cross-national decomposition of the STEM gender gap into a pipeline gap (academic...

This study examines whether awareness of implicit gender-science stereotypes influences university enrollment in STEM fields. We designed a randomized controlled trial involving 566 Italian high school seniors, combining surveys with an Implicit Association Test to measure unconscious biases....

This research investigates why some women like STEM occupations more than others. We show that this phenomenon is rooted in historical kin-based norms and specific aspects of cognition, perceptions, and aspirations enforced by the normative demands of ancestral societies. Using a sub-population...

Die Zuwanderung von MINT-Fachkräften hat entscheidende Auswirkungen auf die Innovationsfähigkeit Deutschlands. Auswertungen des Instituts der deutschen Wirtschaft mit einem Fokus auf Indien zeigen, dass in den vergangenen Jahren hohe Beschäftigungszuwächse zu verzeichnen waren. Zudem nimmt...

Despite significant advances in STEM education and a growing emphasis on gender equality in research and policy circles, women across Europe remain under-represented in STEM careers and among graduates majoring in STEM related fields. This report aims to consolidate current research findings,...

Purpose In Brazil, over 4.7 million women enrolled in university in the year 2017. However, Brazilian women have been consistently overrepresented in humanities and care majors and underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Given that observed gender differences...

This paper focuses on the gendered choice of high school in the Italian context, where children are tracked at age 14 and are free to choose the type of school, with no binding teacher recommendation or ability restriction. It is therefore a context in which preferences, however influenced by...

This article investigates the factors associated with income inequalities among a cohort of graduates from Brazilian courses in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in 2011, over a period of seven years after graduation. It analyses how the social origins of these individuals...

We study the impact of techies—engineers and other technically trained workers—on firm-level productivity. We first report new facts on the role of techies in the firm by leveraging French administrative data and unique surveys. Techies are STEM-skill intensive and are associated with...

The persistent underrepresentation of girls in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields has long been a concern for policymakers and researchers. While factors such as lack of interest or ability have been cited as barriers to girls' enrolment in STEM fields in developed...

We study the impact of techies-engineers and other technically trained workers-on firm-level productivity. We first report new facts on the role of techies in the firm by leveraging French administrative data and unique surveys. Techies are STEM-skill intensive and are associated with...

Eine aktuelle RWI-Studie zeigt: Mädchen und Jungen haben in der neunten Klasse ähnlich hohe digitale Kompetenzen. Allerdings verfolgen Mädchen - anders als Jungen - tendenziell nur dann eine MINT-Karriere, wenn ihre digitalen Kompetenzen überdurchschnittlich stark ausgeprägt sind. Weil der...

This article investigates the factors associated with income inequalities among a cohort of graduates from Brazilian courses in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in 2011, over a period of seven years after graduation. It analyses how the social origins of these individuals...

This paper focuses on the gendered choice of high school in the Italian context, where children are tracked at age 14 and are free to choose the type of school, with no binding teacher recommendation or ability restriction. It is therefore a context in which preferences, however influenced by...

Despite recent improvements in female labor force participation, women remain underrepresented in STEM fields in Japan. Given the close link between STEM workers and innovation, encouraging women to pursue STEM careers could boost growth potential. Using a calibrated endogenous growth model with...

What makes a good teacher? This is one of the central questions in the economics of education. General teacher qualifications, such as education level or advanced degrees, tend to be poor predictors of teacher quality. Instead, some studies have shown that subject-specific qualifications predict...

More STEM graduates are needed to meet the challenges of demography, decarbonisation, digitalisation and deglobalisation. However, the domestic supply threatens to decline, making immigration even more important. Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase in the proportion of...

Skills shortage in the fields of Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) poses a significant challenge for industries globally. This study examines the interrelationship between high school students’ gender, their proficiency in Information and Communication Technology (ICT),...

Gender pay gaps in earnings are well-documented in the literature. However, new factors contributing to women's lower earnings have emerged and remain under-researched. Educational choices are among them. We use a rich administrative dataset from Poland, a Central Eastern European country with...

Preparing students for science, technology, and engineering careers is an urgent state policy challenge. We examine the design and roll-out of a science testing requirement for high-school graduation in Massachusetts. While science test performance has improved over time for all demographic...

This paper examines the evolving trends and policy dynamics of international student migration, focusing on their implications for STEM workforce development and innovation. While the United States has remained a leading destination for international students, recent years have seen a plateau or...

Section 1: Charting New Courses. 1. The Unpolished MBA⁴́Ø: The Entrepreneurial Evolution of Women in STEM 2. 2. From Engineer to Entrepreneur and Life Coach: A Journey of Transformation and Leadership. 3. Black Girls Do Engineer. 4. The Anti-STEM Advocate. Section 2: A New Spin on Old...

In Fall 2014, Wellesley College began mandating pass/fail grading for courses taken by first-year, first-semester students, although instructors continued to record letter grades. We identify the causal effect of the policy on course choice and performance, using a...

Although women earn approximately 50 percent of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) bachelor's degrees, more than 70 percent of scientists and engineers are men. We explore a potential determinant of this STEM gender gap using newly collected data on the career trajectories of...