K-12 Educational Facts

  • Female students' achievement in mathematics and science is on par with their male peers and female students participate in high level mathematics and science courses at similar rates as their male peers, with the exception of computer science and engineering (NSF, Science & Engineering Indicators, 2016).
  • In general, female and male students perform equally well in mathematics and science on standardized tests, but larger gaps exist between students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds or family income, with white and Asian/Pacific Islander students and those from higher income families scoring higher than their counterparts who are black, Hispanic, or American Indian/Alaska Native or who are from lower income families.
  • Students enrolled in level-1 science courses in 2012 at comparable rates, regardless of sex and race and ethnicity. However, students with less-educated parents or of lower socioeconomic status (SES) were less likely to take these courses.
  • Female and male students enrolled in advanced science courses at comparable rates, with females slightly more likely than males to do so (22% versus 18%). However, only 15% of black students and 17% of Hispanic students took these courses.
  • Enrollment in high level mathematics courses did not significantly differ by sex, but did vary by race and ethnicity, parent education level, and SES. For example, the proportion of Asian or Pacific Islander students (64%) enrolled is significantly higher than that of black students (30%) and Hispanic students (28%).
  • Female and male students took AP exams in calculus AB, statistics and chemistry at roughly the same rates in 2013. However, males were more likely to take advanced level AP exams, including calculus BC, physics B and physics C.
  • Male students were more likely than female students to take engineering (3% versus 1%) and computer science courses (7% versus 4%) and enrolled in AP computer science A at a much higher rate (81% males; 19% females).    

Higher Educational Facts

  • The rates of science and engineering course taking for female students shift at the undergraduate level and gender disparities begin to emerge, especially for minority women.
  • In 2013–2014, women in the United States earned more than half of degrees in the biological and biomedical sciences, but a smaller share of other STEM fields.

STEM Workforce Facts

  • Women make up 47% of the U.S. workforce, but only a fraction (25%) work in STEM jobs.
  •  A substantial gender gap in engineering and computer occupations contributes to women’s overall underrepresentation in STEM. In 2015, women in the United States represented:
    • 24.7% of computer and mathematical occupations
    • 15.1% of architecture and engineering occupations
    • For women of color, this gap is even wider. Asian and black women and Latinas made up less than 10% of working scientists and engineers in the United States in 2013.
  • Women are a rarity in high-tech occupations. In 2015, women represented around one-third or less of those employed in these jobs, including:
    • Computer systems analysts (34.2%)
    • Computer programmers (21.0%)
    • Software developers (17.9%)
    • Aerospace engineers (11.3%)
    • Computer hardware engineers (12.8%)
  • Women earned less than men, even in high-paying STEM jobs.  
  • In the United States, women in computer, engineering, and science occupations were paid an estimated 83% of men’s annual median earnings in 2013.
  • Among the highest degree-holders working full-time in science and engineering in the United States in 2013, women made 31.3% less than men in median annual salary: $55,000 for women compared to $80,000 for men.