The overall goal of this research project is to determine how growing opportunity for women to have careers in the professions and business as well in science is affecting the decision process about college major and the choice of future career for academically-talented high school and college women as well as the broader population of college oriented women. We will disentangle the impact of perceived difficulties in combining family and work in a science career from the intrinsic interest factors that arguably play a strong role in the determination of college major and subsequent career. We also will estimate the extent to which career-family incompatibility differs between the areas of science where women have made the least progress (physical science and engineering) and other areas of science, business, and elite professions (i.e., law, medicine, dentistry and other elite professions) where women have made significant progress. We will compare field-specific estimates of actual (and possibly changing) incompatibility between career and family with the perceptions of women about career-family incompatibility that are revealed in the choice behaviors of women while in school. Finally, we will establish whether high schools that have strong curricula in math and science do a better job in pointing women towards science careers, whether these effects persist over the educational career, and whether changes in the proportion of high schools with strong math and science curricula have helped to stimulate the growing proportion of women who have pursued science careers over the past twenty five years. Our study is important for a proper understanding of the female shortfall in science (particularly in the physical sciences and engineering) and the likely prognosis for future trends.

Public Health Relevance

The overall goal of this research project is to determine how growing opportunity for women to have careers in the professions and business as well in science is affecting the decision process about college major and the choice of future career for academically-talented high school and college women. We will disentangle the impact of perceived difficulties in combining family and work in a science career from the intrinsic interest factors that arguably play a strong role in the determination of college major and subsequent career. Our study has important implications for public health because academically talented high school women are a major potential source of future scientists in health-related areas, and greater knowledge about the factors that affect their career choices can lead to policies to ensure an adequate supply of health scientists to fill America's future needs.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
7R01EB010584-03
Application #
8137712
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-HOP-B (50))
Program Officer
Hunziker, Rosemarie
Project Start
2009-09-30
Project End
2014-08-31
Budget Start
2011-09-01
Budget End
2014-08-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2011
Total Cost
$313,838
Indirect Cost
Name
Columbia University (N.Y.)
Department
Social Sciences
Type
Other Domestic Higher Education
DUNS #
049179401
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10027
Buchmann, Claudia; McDaniel, Anne (2016) Motherhood and the Wages of Women in Professional Occupations. RSF 2:128-150
Alon, Sigal; DiPrete, Thomas A (2015) Gender Differences in the Formation of a Field of Study Choice Set. Sociol Sci 2:50-81
Mann, Allison; Legewie, Joscha; DiPrete, Thomas A (2015) The role of school performance in narrowing gender gaps in the formation of STEM aspirations: a cross-national study. Front Psychol 6:171
Legewie, Joscha; DiPrete, Thomas A (2014) Pathways to Science and Engineering Bachelor's Degrees for Men and Women. Sociol Sci 1:41-48
Legewie, Joscha; DiPrete, Thomas A (2014) The High School Environment and the Gender Gap in Science and Engineering. Sociol Educ 87:259-280
Mann, Allison; Diprete, Thomas A (2013) Trends in gender segregation in the choice of science and engineering majors. Soc Sci Res 42:1519-41