Why do women choose stem educational path?

Abstract

Several studies have highlighted the greater female propensity in the university choice of humanities and non-STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) studies, contrary to what happens to male students. The persistence of this gender gap in educational choices affects the subsequent female under-representation in the technical-scientific fields, which are most requested and remunerated in the labor market. Our contribution intends to investigate the probability for a student, at the end of secondary school, to undertake a technical-scientific tertiary education path. This probability is estimated through probit regressions by using the database ISTAT 2015 graduated from High School and it is calculated by taking into account first of all the gender variable and then the family and socio-economic context. We also investigate the role of the geographical dimension in order to understand if it affects educational gender segregation. The work also intends to offer useful elements for understanding the multiple determinants that contribute increasing gender inequalities in educational models.