Women's underrepresentation in science
Sociocultural and biological considerations
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4425528 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Stephen J Ceci (0000-0002-2835-9707, Cornell University), W M Williams (0000-0001-6666-4000, Cornell University), Susan M Barnett (Cornell University) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 135 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 218-261 |
| Publication date | 2009-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Psychological Bulletin (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0033-2909 • E-ISSN: 1939-1455 |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1037/a0014412 |
| PMID | 19254079 |
| OpenAlex | W2112657826 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 219 |
| References cited | 105 |
The underrepresentation of women at the top of math-intensive fields is controversial, with competing claims of biological and sociocultural causation. The authors develop a framework to delineate possible causal pathways and evaluate evidence for each. Biological evidence is contradictory and inconclusive. Although cross-cultural and cross-cohort differences suggest a powerful effect of sociocultural context, evidence for specific factors is inconsistent and contradictory. Factors unique to underrepresentation in math-intensive fields include the following: (a) Math-proficient women disproportionately prefer careers in non-math-intensive fields and are more likely to leave math-intensive careers as they advance; (b) more men than women score in the extreme math-proficient range on gatekeeper tests, such as the SAT Mathematics and the Graduate Record Examinations Quantitative Reasoning sections; (c) women with high math competence are disproportionately more likely to have high verbal competence, allowing greater choice of professions; and (d) in some math-intensive fields, women with children are penalized in promotion rates. The evidence indicates that women's preferences, potentially representing both free and constrained choices, constitute the most powerful explanatory factor; a secondary factor is performance on gatekeeper tests, most likely resulting from sociocultural rather than biological causes
Biology · Causation · Competence (human resources) · Context (archaeology) · Developmental psychology · Epistemology · Sociocultural evolution · Sociology · Cognitive Abilities and Testing · Education, Achievement, and Giftedness · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Psychology · Social Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 219 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 13,69 |
| Citation span | 2010 - 2026 (17) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | Yes |
| Citation types | Neutral: 198 |