Research Proposal

Sabrina Kudowitz

Professor Goeller

Research in Disciplines: College!

March 6, 2017

Research Proposal

Working Title:

Gender Discrepancy in College Majors

Topic:

I will research, explore, and compare the major choices of men and women and how they differ. I will also explore why they differ and what their choices are based on. I will specifically talk about the underrepresentation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) majors and contributing factors to the immense  shortage of women in these fields. I also plan to discuss why it's important that this trend is changed, and how it can be changed, if at all.

Research Question:

Why is there a large disparity in major choices between men and women, specifically in STEM fields, and how can this be changed?

Theoretical Frame:

Many studies show the disparity in major choice between men and women. It is believed that possible causes for this discrepancy include innate gender related personality traits not fitting well with specific fields, perceived hostility of those and towards specific fields, and lack of societal support. Any of these aforementioned reasons could be the cause for this underrepresentation.Recently, there has been tremendous growth in science technology engineering and math (STEM) fields. However, the availability of jobs and need for professionals does not translate to the amount of people who actually pursue this field, especially regarding women. Women only account for around 25% of jobs in these fields when at least half of college graduates in the workforce are female. The article “Gender and Choosing a STEM Major in College: Femininity, Masculinity, Chilly Climate, and Occupational Values” refers to the “chilly climate” of stem majors and suggests that incompatibility with feminine personality traits causes women to lean towards fields that appreciate altruism, a characteristic seen to be innate with femininity .The article “Attrition of Women in STEM:Examining Job/Major Congruence in the Career Choices of College Graduates” suggest that the underrepresentation is due to the fact that “gender-based inequity in STEM majors and during the labor market entry stage is severe, and women experience clear disadvantages in salary and employment status.”  With this paper, I am trying to further understand the reason for this contrast.

Case Additional Questions and Research Plan:

The gender disparity and underrepresentation of women is becoming more and more obvious and American society is in great need of a solution. As stated in “Gender Differences in Attitudes Toward Science and Technology Among Majors” “The focus on reducing gender disparity across all fields of Science and Technology (S&T) takes on greater urgency as we cannot afford to ignore the potential contributions of half of the nation’s population. A lack of social and academic support for female students to pursue S&T fields can impede their academic and career aspirations.” I plan to research the long term effects of this problem and explain why this discrepancy is an issue in the first place. Some additional questions I have are: How can society encourage more women to enter into STEM fields especially if the reason for the under representation could be an innate difference in character traits and values? Could the reason for these differing values and traits be due to how boys and girls are raised differently, and if so is this a greater problem?  This approach to the issue could be a possible way to further understand and perhaps even begin to fix the gender disparity in occupational fields. However, if the problem is societal treatment of women in the field, is this too broad of an issue to be changed? Is the only way to change this for more women to get involved?

Working Bibliography:

Simon, R.M., et al. "Gender and Choosing a STEM Major in College: Femininity, Masculinity, Chilly Climate, and Occupational Values." Journal of Research in Science Teaching, vol. 54, no. 3, 01 Mar. 2017, p. 299-323.

Xu, Y.J. "Attrition of Women in STEM: Examining Job/Major Congruence in the Career Choices of College Graduates." Journal of Career Development, vol. 44, no. 1, 01 Feb. 2017, p. 3-19.

Gokhale, Anu A., et al. "Gender Differences in Attitudes toward Science and Technology among Majors." Journal of Science Education and Technology, vol. 24, no. 4, 01 Aug. 2015, pp. 509-516.

Ma, Yingyi. "College Major Choice, Occupational Structure and Demographic Patterning by Gender, Race and Nativity." The Social Science Journal, vol. 48, 01 Jan. 2011, pp. 112-129.

Daymont, Thomas N. and Paul J. Andrisani. "Job Preferences, College Major, and the Gender Gap in Earnings." Journal of Human Resources, vol. 19, no. 3, Summer84, p. 408.

Moakler, MW and MM Kim. "College Major Choice in STEM: Revisiting Confidence and Demographic Factors." Career Development Quarterly, vol. 62, no. 2, n.d., pp. 128-142.