A study finds that women are more likely than men to leave full-time STEM careers when they become parents. Women have been underrepresented in STEM careers for decades, and parenthood is thought to contribute to the gender gap. Erin A. Cech and Mary Blair-Loy analyzed nationally representative longitudinal survey data from US-based STEM professionals collected between 2003 and 2010 by the National Science Foundation. The authors found that within 7 years of the birth or adoption of their first child, 43% of women and 23% of men left full-time STEM careers. Compared with new fathers, new mothers were more likely to switch to part-time work or leave the workforce. Compared with childless peers who transitioned out of STEM careers, new parents were more likely to attribute transition to family-related reasons. Once parents left the STEM workforce, they were unlikely to return by the time children were old enough to attend school. While this finding held true across STEM disciplines, new parents in the life sciences were more likely than those in engineering to leave the workforce. The results suggest that parenthood contributes to gender imbalance in STEM employment as well as the need to find ways to help new parents balance STEM careers with parenting.
Article #18-10862: "The changing career trajectories of new parents in STEM," by Erin A. Cech and Mary Blair-Loy.
MEDIA CONTACT: Erin A. Cech, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; tel: 406-580-4063; email: ecech@umich.edu
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