The STEM Gap

THE STEM GAP

Despite progress, women are still underrepresented in STEM—but closing this gap is a powerful opportunity to unlock talent, drive innovation, and build a more equitable future.

WHY IT MATTERS

Throughout school and into the workforce, women encounter persistent barriers that limit their full participation in STEM. Unequal access to advanced coursework, limited mentorship, and exclusionary academic and workplace cultures continue to hold women back. Addressing these challenges is essential to building a future workforce that reflects the full range of talent and potential.

Challenges for Women & Girls in STEM

Despite decades of progress, barriers to STEM equity persist across the education pipeline—and they’re growing worse in today’s political climate.

• Early Bias Shapes Confidence
  Gender stereotypes take root in elementary school, discouraging girls from seeing themselves as capable in math and science. Girls and young women don’t see examples of female scientists and engineers in books, media and popular culture. There are even fewer role models of Black and Latina women in math and science.
• Limited Encouragement in Middle and High School
  Girls are less likely to be steered toward physics, calculus, and computer science—courses that open doors to high-paying STEM fields. Especially students of color who are less likely to have access to AP STEM courses in high school, a key pathway for higher education attainment.
• Unequal Footing in High-Paying STEM Majors
  In college, women are concentrated in health sciences while underrepresented in engineering and computing. Despite making up 51% of the US population, women made up only 38.8% of bachelor’s degree recipients. And these discrepancies only grow with advanced degree conferrals.
• Support Systems Under Attack
  Anti-DEI laws are dismantling mentorship programs, Title IX offices, and other resources critical to STEM persistence for women and girls. The current administration’s executive orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion shut down high school and middle school programs aimed at recruiting students from underrepresented backgrounds, cuts to awards and funding opportunities for equity-related research, as well as reductions in training programs in science and technology.
• Workplace Barriers Push Women Out
  Hostile climates, caregiving burdens, and lack of inclusive policies continue to drive women—especially mothers and women of color—out of STEM careers. Women report significantly higher rates of perceived penalization for the use of parental support systems than men.

Persistent Inequities

Women are underrepresented advanced Science and Engineering degree conferrals, with only 37.6% of master’s degrees and 35.9% of doctoral degrees being awarded to women. But the discrepancies continue as women seek employment in STEM fields, women only make up 26% of the STEM workforce. Even when they are employed, women who work in STEM are more likely to be the target of gender-based violence and sexism than women in other fields. Women of color face additional challenges in STEM pathways with limited diverse faculty and the double bind of racism and sexism.

Impact

STEM workers who majored in a STEM field in college typically make 1.15 times more than those who did not. Giving women equal opportunities to pursue — and thrive in — STEM careers help narrow the gender pay gap and enhance women’s economic security. What’s more, greater diversity also helps to banish biases, ensure a more talented STEM workforce and lead to a fuller range of the products and services that workforce produces.

RESOURCES

• March 2025 Webinar: The Power of Women in STEM: AAUW NGOCSW Parallel Event Innovation & Advancement (YouTube)
  

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

Confront the systematic barriers that limit women’s full participation and advancement in STEM education and careers.

• Enforce Title IV and restore full Title IX protections to prevent race-based and sex-based harassment and discrimination in STEM and career and technical education programs.
• Ensure that schools and colleges have the training, resources, and accountability systems necessary to uphold students’ civil rights and maintain inclusive learning environments.
• Increase federal investment in outreach, mentorship, academic support, and bridge programs that increase retention and degree attainment in STEM for women and students of color.
• Increase federal funding for programs that provide academic support, mentoring, and community for women in STEM majors—particularly women of color and first-generation students.
• Improve federal data collection on STEM student enrollment and outcomes, disaggregated by gender, race, and disability.
• Expand need-based financial aid and student support services to help more women—especially those balancing work, caregiving, or first-generation status—enter and complete STEM degrees.

AAUW IN ACTION

• Advocacy & Legislation: AAUW mobilizes members and supporters across the country to push for policies like GEEA and the STEM Opportunities Act. We also work in coalition to protect DEI and Title IX.
• Community Action Grants: AAUW invests in community-led STEM initiatives that advance equity for girls in grades K–12. We’ve supported more than 60 innovative projects nationwide in the past four years—empowering the next generation of scientists, engineers, and changemakers while strengthening local communities.
• Funding Education: As the largest non-institutional funder of women’s graduate education, AAUW supports women on the path to tenure—not only to strengthen the research pipeline, but also to ensure diverse voices shape the future of scholarship, teaching, and innovation. Our funding for advanced degrees, postdoctoral research leave, and publication preparation helps more women thrive and lead in STEM.