The Effects of Professor Gender on the Post-Graduation Outcomes of Female Students

TL;DR: Although women earn approximately 50% of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) bachelor's degrees, more than 70% of scientists and engineers are men as discussed by the authors, and the authors explore a potential det...

Abstract: Although women earn approximately 50% of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) bachelor’s degrees, more than 70% of scientists and engineers are men. The authors explore a potential det...

Summary

Introduction

• The IZA research network is committed to the IZA Guiding Principles of Research Integrity.
• Technology, engineering and math (STEM) bachelor’s degrees, more than 70% of scientists and engineers are men.
• Specifically, the authors find that high-ability female students who were assigned female professors did better in their first-year (and subsequent) math and science courses and were more likely to graduate with a STEM degree.
• Information on post- graduation outcomes was obtained from the Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC) for the period 2004-2016, so the authors are able to follow students for a minimum of 8 years after graduation, provided that they remained in the Air Force.

II.A. Previous studies

• Researchers have expended considerable effort exploring how instructor (i.e., teacher or professor) gender affects academic outcomes.
• 6 exceptions (Carrell, Page and West 2010; Muralidharan and Sheth 2016; Lim and Meer, forthcoming), the results of these studies should be viewed with some skepticism given that students are not typically assigned to their instructors at random.
• In fact, only two, essentially descriptive, studies have focused on this relationship.
• Rothstein (1995) found a positive correlation between the fraction of female faculty and the likelihood that female undergraduates would go on to obtain an advanced degree.
• These authors found no evidence that specialty choice was related to the fraction of full- time faculty who were female.

II.B. The USAFA and its Students

• The students and academic curriculum at the USAFA are similar in many respects to other selective liberal arts colleges, with an emphasis on balancing “Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) with the arts and humanities” (USAFA n.d.).
• 7 are required to take a series of core courses, totaling approximately 85 semester hours, in the basic sciences, engineering, social sciences, and humanities.
• The scheduling process results in two primary sources of variation in professor gender.
• The mandatory set of core courses required for the 2004-2008 graduating classes can be found in the USAFA Curriculum Handbooks.
• Second, assignment of students to sections within each period is randomized by a computer algorithm, ensuring that observable and unobservable student and professor characteristics are uncorrelated within periods.

II.C. The USAFA Data

• The authors analysis relies on longitudinal administrative data for 5,929 students.
• The authors obtained administrative records describing the complete academic careers of USAFA students entering in the graduating classes of 2004 through 2008, consisting of 1,018 female students and 4,911 male students.
• //www.academyadmissions.com/admissions/) for more details on the academic composite, leadership composite, and fitness test scores, also known as See CP&W or (https.
• The authors chose to exclude biological science degrees from their measure of graduating with a STEM degree because female participation rates are much higher in the biological sciences as compared to other STEM fields.
• Male and female professors at the USAFA taught similar types of students (Table 1).

II.D. Post-Graduation Outcomes

• The authors turn their attention to the effects of professor gender on occupation after replicating the basic CP&W results.
• First, students decide whether they wish to pursue one of approximately 4 rated occupations (which primarily involve piloting aircraft) or whether they wish to pursue a non-rated occupation such as intelligence, developmental engineer, or scientist.
• Finally, using these choices and weights, an algorithm matches USAFA graduates with their first job.
• Two years after graduation, 160 had switched 10 The primary source for occupation and other post-graduation outcomes of USAFA students is the AFPC.
• Twenty-eight percent of female students obtained a STEM bachelor’s degree but, of those who obtained a STEM bachelor’s degree, only 50 percent went on to work in a STEM occupation.

15 Specifically, the category “professional occupation” includes chaplain, dentist, general practice physician, judge

• Advocate, lawyer, and surgeon. 13 instructor), whether and when to pursue additional education is ultimately the individual’s choice.
• Less than 1% of female graduates with a STEM bachelor’s degree earned a professional degree within 6 years.
• The authors begin by estimating the same linear regression model as did CP&W using the newly collected data on academic outcomes described in the previous section.
• It is important to note that, although pursuing an advance degree is not typically required of USAFA graduates, it increases the likelihood of promotion.
• See Switzer (2011) and the Air Force Times (www.airforcetimes.com) for more information detailing the Air Force policies towards the obtainment of advanced academic degrees.

17 By comparison, among male graduates with a STEM bachelor’s degree, 21% went on to earn a STEM master’s

• Degree within 6 years; less than 1% earned a professional degree within 6 years.
• In addition, the authors include indicators for graduating class (i.e., cohort), age, whether the student attended preparatory school, whether the student was a recruited athlete, and whether the student enlisted in the Air Force prior to entering the USAFA.
• Standard errors are corrected for clustering at the professor level.
• Β2 is the effect of having more female professors in first-year math and science courses, and β3 is the effect of having more female professors on the academic outcomes of female students relative to male students.
• Again, the vector Xi includes indicators for graduating class and the personal characteristics of student i as well as the professor characteristics discussed immediately above.

IV.A. Effects of Professor Gender on Academic Outcomes

• The authors begin by discussing estimates of the relationship between professor gender and the grades received by students in their first-year math and science courses, which are reported in 16 Table 3.
• Specifically, female students score 9.2% of a standard deviation lower than their male counterparts when assigned to a male professor.
• In fact, it appears as though more than 80% of the gender gap is eliminated.
• In the second column of Table 3, the authors replace the controls contained in the vector Xi with student fixed effects.
• In the remaining columns of Table 3, the authors show estimates by observed math ability before entering the USAFA (as measured by math SAT scores).

IV.B. Effects of Professor Gender on Other Academic Outcomes at the USAFA

• CP&W argued that “course performance itself is only interesting to the extent that it affects pathways into STEM carriers” (p. 1124).
• Again, their estimates are similar to those of CP&W.
• There is strong evidence that high-ability female students (as measured by math SAT scores) perform better in follow-on STEM classes when they are assigned to female math and science professors their freshman year.
• In the remaining columns of Table 4, the authors show estimates of equation (3).
• It might be noted that the estimate of β3, for female students in the top quartile of the math ability distribution is large relative to the estimate of β1, but not precise (Panel D).

IV.C. Effects of Professor Gender on Occupation

• The authors principal interest is in the relationship between professor gender and post-graduation outcomes, beginning with occupation.
• Specifically, the authors examine three dichotomous outcomes: whether a USAFA graduate became a pilot, whether he/she worked in a STEM occupation, and whether he/she worked in a professional occupation.
• The authors examine the effects of professor gender on whether students’ first job was in STEM.

IV.D. Effects of Professor Gender on the Receipt of Advanced Degrees

• Upon graduating from the USAFA, students typically begin their occupation training immediately.
• After completing their occupation training, students may choose to pursue a master’s degree, although it should be noted that, if a student is assigned to a professional occupation (e.g., lawyer, medical doctor, or chaplain), earning a professional degree is usually considered part of their formal occupation training.
• Once through formal training and partway through their first military assignment Air Force officers can apply to pursue an advanced academic degree through the Air Force Advanced Academic Degree (AAD) program.
• Specifically, increasing the fraction of female professors in first-year math and science courses from 0% to 100% is associated with a (statistically insignificant) 0.035 decrease in the probability that male students obtain a STEM master’s degree within 4 years of graduation, which is offset by a 0.035 increase in the probability that they obtain a professional degree.
• The results, are similar to those reported in Tables 6 and 7.

IV.E. Effects of Professor Gender on Separation from the Air Force

• Students are contractually obligated to serve as an active-duty commissioned officer in the Air Force for a minimum of 5 years after graduating from the USAFA.
• 33 Separation from the Air Force could have been non-voluntary, although some graduates likely voluntarily transferred to reserve or guard positions.
• Female graduates of the USAFA are 4.4 percentage points more likely to separate from the Air Force than their male counterparts, but there is no evidence that professor gender affects this outcome: the estimate of β3 is small and statistically insignificant.
• One of the advantages of using data from the USAFA is that students there are quasi-randomly assigned to first-year math and science classes.
• The authors find that, among high-ability female students (i.e., those who scored in the top quartile of the math SAT), being assigned a female professor is associated with substantial increases in the probability of working in a STEM occupation and the probability of receiving a STEM master’s degree within 6 years of graduation.

Table A3. Professor Gender Effects on Separation from the Military and Education Outcomes: Controlling for First-Year

• Professor Indicators Master’s STEM Professional Separated degree master's degree degree military ≤ 4 years ≤ 4 years ≤ 4 years ≤ 4 years Specification (1) (2) (3) (4) Panel A. Notes: Each column reports the results of a separate student-level regression.
• The dependent variable in column (2) is equal to 1 if the student received a STEM master's degree within 4 years after graduating and is equal to 0 otherwise.
• Controls include SAT verbal score, SAT math score, academic composite score, leadership composite score, fitness score, and indicators for black, Hispanic, Asian, other, recruited athlete, attended preparatory school, enlisted prior to entering the Academy, and age 17-19.
• All regressions include indicators for graduating class and introductory course professors.
• In column (3), the sample is restricted to USAFA graduates who served for at least 4 years.

Figures

Table 5. Professor Gender and Occupation

Table 4. Professor Gender and Outcomes at USAFA

Table 6. Professor Gender Effects on Separation from the Military and Education Outcomes

Table 1. Summary Statistics

Table 2. Randomness Check: Estimates from Regressing Faculty Gender on Student Characteristics

Table 7. Professor Gender Effects on Separation from the Military and Education Outcomes

Table 3. Professor Gender and First-Year STEM Course Performance

Full text

Mansour, Hani; Rees, Daniel I.; Rintala, Bryson; Wozny, Nathan
Working Paper
The Effects of Professor Gender on the Post-
Graduation Outcomes of Female Students
IZA Discussion Papers, No. 11820
Provided in Cooperation with:
IZA – Institute of Labor Economics
Suggested Citation: Mansour, Hani; Rees, Daniel I.; Rintala, Bryson; Wozny, Nathan (2018) :
The Effects of Professor Gender on the Post-Graduation Outcomes of Female Students, IZA
Discussion Papers, No. 11820, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
This Version is available at:
http://hdl.handle.net/10419/185280
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DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES
IZA DP No. 11820
Hani Mansour
Daniel I. Rees
Bryson M. Rintala
Nathan N. Wozny
The Effects of Professor Gender on the Post-
Graduation Outcomes of Female Students
SEPTEMBER 2018

Any opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and not those of IZA. Research published in this series may
include views on policy, but IZA takes no institutional policy positions. The IZA research network is committed to the IZA
Guiding Principles of Research Integrity.
The IZA Institute of Labor Economics is an independent economic research institute that conducts research in labor economics
and offers evidence-based policy advice on labor market issues. Supported by the Deutsche Post Foundation, IZA runs the
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DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES
IZA DP No. 11820
The Effects of Professor Gender on the Post-
Graduation Outcomes of Female Students
SEPTEMBER 2018
Hani Mansour
University of Colorado Denver and IZA
Daniel I. Rees
University of Colorado Denver and IZA
Bryson M. Rintala
University of Colorado Denver
Nathan N. Wozny
United States Air Force Academy

ABSTRACT
IZA DP No. 11820 SEPTEMBER 2018
The Effects of Professor Gender on the Post-
Graduation Outcomes of Female Students
*
Although women earn approximately 50% of science, technology, engineering and math
(STEM) bachelor’s degrees, more than 70% of scientists and engineers are men. We
explore a potential determinant of this STEM gender gap using newly collected data on the
career trajectories of United States Air Force Academy students. Specifically, we examine
the effects of being assigned female math and science professors on occupation and
postgraduate education. We find that, among high-ability female students, being assigned
a female professor leads to substantial increases in the probability of working in a STEM
occupation and the probability of receiving a STEM master’s degree.
JEL Classification: I20, J16, J24
Keywords: gender gap, STEM occupational choice, post-graduate
education
Corresponding author:
Hani Mansour
Department of Economics
University of Colorado Denver
Campus Box 181
Denver, CO 80217
USA
E-mail: hani.mansour@ucdenver.edu
* The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or
position of the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

2
I. INTRODUCTION
According to the National Science Foundation (2017), women earn approximately half of
all science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) bachelor’s degrees in the United States.
Nevertheless, women continue to be underrepresented in the science and engineering workforce.
In 2015, the most recent year for which data are available, only 28% of employed scientists and
engineers were women.
1
One reason for this substantial gender gap is that, up until the late 1990s, the majority of
STEM bachelor’s degrees were earned by men (National Science Foundation 2017). Another
contributing factor is that women who earn STEM degrees are much less likely than their male
counterparts to end up working as a scientist or engineer; instead, they often pursue careers in
education or healthcare (Beede et al. 2011, p. 6).
2
Interventions intended to address the STEM gender gap are often predicated on the
assumption that female students who are interested in math and science suffer from a lack of
same gender-role models (Handelsman et al. 2005; Redden 2007). In fact, several studies
provide evidence that exposure to female math and science professors encourages female college
students to pursue STEM degrees (Rask and Bailey 2002; Bettinger and Long 2005; Carrell,
Page and West 2010). However, much less is known about the relationship between professor
gender and longer-run post-graduation outcomes.
1
These figures come from the 2015 National Survey of College Graduates, conducted by the National Center for
Science and Engineering Statistics (www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/). According to the National Science Foundation
(2017), science and engineering occupations include biological/physical scientists, computer/information scientists,
engineers, mathematical scientists, psychologists, and social scientists. In 2014-2015, 57% of all bachelor’s degrees
and 60% of all master’s degrees were awarded to female students.
2
Approximately 40% of men with a STEM bachelor’s degree work in STEM jobs, while 26% of women with a
STEM degree work in STEM jobs (Beede et al. 2011, p. 6).

Frequently asked questions

Q1. What contributions have the authors mentioned in the paper "The effects of professor gender on the post-graduation outcomes of female students" ?

Specifically, the authors examine the effects of being assigned female math and science professors on occupation and postgraduate education. 

Q2. What is the effect of increasing the proportion of female professors in first-year math and science?

increasingthe fraction of female professors in first-year math and science courses from 0% to 100% isassociated with a (statistically insignificant) 0.035 decrease in the probability that male studentsobtain a STEM master’s degree within 4 years of graduation, which is offset by a 0.035 increasein the probability that they obtain a professional degree. 

Q3. What is the effect of being assigned a female professor?

The authors find that,among high-ability female students (i.e., those who scored in the top quartile of the math SAT),being assigned a female professor is associated with substantial increases in the probability ofworking in a STEM occupation and the probability of receiving a STEM master’s degree within6 years of graduation. 

Q4. What is the effect of a policy aimed at increasing the supply of female professors?

Among male students whose math SAT scores wereabove the median, the estimates of β2 are consistently negative and statistically significant atconventional levels, which suggests that a policy aimed at increasing the supply of femaleprofessors could have the unintended effect of discouraging male students from going intoSTEM careers. 

Q5. How do Air Force officers apply to pursue an advanced degree?

Once through formal training and partway through their first military assignment Air Force officers can apply to pursue an advanced academic degree through the Air Force Advanced Academic Degree (AAD) program. 

Q6. What is the effect of increasing the number of female professors in first-year math and science?

increasingthe fraction of female professors in first-year math and science courses from 0% to 100% isassociated with a 0.445 increase in the probability that high-ability female students worked in aSTEM occupation (Panel D). 

Q7. How many estimate coefficients are significant at conventional levels?

When the authors restrict the sample to studentswhose math SAT scores were above the median (i.e., above 660), three estimated coefficients(out of a total of 22 estimate coefficients) are significant at conventional levels. 

Q8. What are the characteristics of a student who has enrolled in the Academy?

Student characteristics include SAT verbal score, SAT math score, academic composite score, leadership composite score, fitness score, and indicators for black, Hispanic, Asian, other, recruited athlete, attended preparatory school, enlisted prior to entering the Academy, and age 17-19.