Science Gender Gap Remains, Report Finds

A new study of women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) finds that women in these jobs earn higher salaries than those in jobs unrelated to science and technology, but they are still underrepresented in STEM college degrees and professions. The study, issued this month by the Department of Commerce’s Economics & Statistics Administration, notes that women receive about 50% of the college degrees in these areas but constitute just 24% of the STEM workforce. The study also finds that there is a 14% wage gap between men and women in STEM professions, compared with a 31% gap in all non-STEM jobs. The smallest pay gap was in engineering, where women earned 7% less than men. The data for this study come from the department’s 2009 American Community Survey.