Women’s enrollments in STEM in higher education: Cross-national trends, 1970-2010

Abstract

This paper describes cross-national trends in women’s share of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) enrollments in higher education for roughly 70 countries between 1970 and 2010. We answer two questions: 1) what is the overall global trend regarding women’s entry into these fields of study? And, 2) are certain STEM fields more accessible to women than other fields? We find that the overall trend is one of increased access, and this finding holds across different regions. Although women’s share has increased in both fields of study, women have less access to engineering than natural science. These findings are discussed within the broader context of global changes in the status of women. This discussion is grounded in macro-sociological theories that situate national changes within the influential “world society.†Lastly, we distinguish between the gains of women in science and the persisting issues of women and science.