Women continue to be underrepresented in STEM fields despite significant policy efforts to increase the number of qualified women. Prior research focused on access for women into advanced high school mathematics and science courses. Parity has been achieved in academic prerequisites for STEM studies in higher education, yet the number of women majoring in STEM has remained static. Recent research has focused on the socio-cultural obstacles that women face, including a lower self-confidence in their abilities, bias and gender stereotypes.
A survey was undertaken to examine the self-confidence, opinions and backgrounds of female students persisting as STEM majors at two technological institutions. The results confirmed strong academic preparation, but also revealed a high level of self-confidence in their abilities and future outlook, especially in students attracted to STEM at an early age. The results of this study can inform program initiatives to attract more young girls to STEM majors.
","abstract_html":"<p>Women continue to be underrepresented in STEM fields despite significant policy efforts to increase the number of qualified women. Prior research focused on access for women into advanced high school mathematics and science courses. Parity has been achieved in academic prerequisites for STEM studies in higher education, yet the number of women majoring in STEM has remained static. Recent research has focused on the socio-cultural obstacles that women face, including a lower self-confidence in their abilities, bias and gender stereotypes.</p> <p>A survey was undertaken to examine the self-confidence, opinions and backgrounds of female students persisting as STEM majors at two technological institutions. The results confirmed strong academic preparation, but also revealed a high level of self-confidence in their abilities and future outlook, especially in students attracted to STEM at an early age. The results of this study can inform program initiatives to attract more young girls to STEM majors.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Brandt, Ronald"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"PhD Higher Education Leadership, Management, Policy","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Education Leadership, Management and Policy","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Martin Finkelstein, Ph.D.","Elaine Walker, Ph.D.","Eunyoung Kim, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-05-19T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-05-19T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:32:52Z","subjects":["Women in STEM","Persistence in STEM","Undergraduates in STEM","Females in STEM","Educational Leadership","Higher Education","Higher Education Administration","Science and Mathematics Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations/1935","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Martin Finkelstein, Ph.D.","Elaine Walker, Ph.D.","Eunyoung Kim, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Brandt, Ronald"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-03-31T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Education Leadership, Management and Policy"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["PhD Higher Education Leadership, Management, Policy"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Women in STEM","Persistence in STEM","Undergraduates in STEM","Females in STEM","Educational Leadership","Higher Education","Higher Education Administration","Science and Mathematics Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations/1935"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Women continue to be underrepresented in STEM fields despite significant policy efforts to increase the number of qualified women. Prior research focused on access for women into advanced high school mathematics and science courses. Parity has been achieved in academic prerequisites for STEM studies in higher education, yet the number of women majoring in STEM has remained static. Recent research has focused on the socio-cultural obstacles that women face, including a lower self-confidence in their abilities, bias and gender stereotypes.
A survey was undertaken to examine the self-confidence, opinions and backgrounds of female students persisting as STEM majors at two technological institutions. The results confirmed strong academic preparation, but also revealed a high level of self-confidence in their abilities and future outlook, especially in students attracted to STEM at an early age. The results of this study can inform program initiatives to attract more young girls to STEM majors.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Why do Undergraduate Women Persist as Stem Majors? A Study at TwoTechnological Universities"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Martin Finkelstein, Ph.D.","Elaine Walker, Ph.D.","Eunyoung Kim, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Brandt, Ronald"],"dc:date.available":["2014-03-31T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Women continue to be underrepresented in STEM fields despite significant policy efforts to increase the number of qualified women. Prior research focused on access for women into advanced high school mathematics and science courses. Parity has been achieved in academic prerequisites for STEM studies in higher education, yet the number of women majoring in STEM has remained static. Recent research has focused on the socio-cultural obstacles that women face, including a lower self-confidence in their abilities, bias and gender stereotypes.
A survey was undertaken to examine the self-confidence, opinions and backgrounds of female students persisting as STEM majors at two technological institutions. The results confirmed strong academic preparation, but also revealed a high level of self-confidence in their abilities and future outlook, especially in students attracted to STEM at an early age. The results of this study can inform program initiatives to attract more young girls to STEM majors.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations/1935"],"dc:subject":["Women in STEM","Persistence in STEM","Undergraduates in STEM","Females in STEM","Educational Leadership","Higher Education","Higher Education Administration","Science and Mathematics Education"],"dc:title":["Why do Undergraduate Women Persist as Stem Majors? A Study at TwoTechnological Universities"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Education Leadership, Management and Policy"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["PhD Higher Education Leadership, Management, Policy"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:32:52Z"}