Fewer Women Than Men Choose Science Careers Because More Women Have Better Verbal Skills Leading To More Career Choices

Posted by Milton Recht:

From Association for Psychological Science Press release, "More Career Options May Explain Why Fewer Women Pursue Jobs in Science and Math:"

Women may be less likely to pursue careers in science and math because they have more career choices, not because they have less ability, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Although the gender gap in mathematics has narrowed in recent decades, with more females enrolling and performing well in math classes, females are still less likely to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) than their male peers.

Researchers tend to agree that differences in math ability can’t account for the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields. So what does?***Looking at students who showed high math abilities, [University of Pittsburgh developmental psychologist Ming-Te] Wang and colleagues found that those students who also had high verbal abilities — a group that contained more women than men — were less likely to have chosen a STEM occupation than those who had moderate verbal abilities.

Further analyses suggest that gender differences in career choice could be explained, at least in part, by differences in students’ combinations of abilities.

According to Wang, this study identifies a critical link in the debate about the dearth of women in STEM fields.

"Our study shows that it’s not lack of ability or differences in ability that orients females to pursue non-STEM careers, it’s the greater likelihood that females with high math ability also have high verbal ability,” notes Wang. “Because they’re good at both, they can consider a wide range of occupations." [Emphasis added.]