Document Type
Discussion Paper
Publication Date
8-31-2025
CFDP Number
2458
CFDP Pages
18
Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) Code(s)
I23, I24, N30
Abstract
Women account for only 35% of global STEM graduates, a share unchanged for a decade. We use administrative microdata from centralized university admissions in ten systems to deliver the first crossnational decomposition of the STEM gender gap into a pipeline gap (academic preparedness) and a choice gap (first-choice field conditional on eligibility). In deferred-acceptance platforms where eligibility is score-based, we isolate preferences from access. The pipeline gap varies widely, from -19 to +31 percentage points across education systems. By contrast, the choice gap is remarkably stable: high-scoring women are 25 percentage points less likely than men to rank STEM first.
Recommended Citation
Ahimbisibwe, Isaac; Altjmed, Adam; Artemov, Georgy; Barrios-Fernandez, Andres; Bizopoulou, Aspasia; Kaila, Martti; Liu, Jin-Tan; Megalokonomou, Rigissa; Montalban, José; Neilson, Christopher; Sun, Jintao; Otero, Sebastian; and Ye, Xiaoyang, "Pipeline vs. Choice: The Global Gender Gap in STEM Applications" (2025). Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers. 2879.
https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/cowles-discussion-paper-series/2879