Women in engineering: statistical analysis of ACT data and proposed procedure to reverse trend

Journal Article

Women have historically been underrepresented both in college majors and professional careers in STEM fields. This disparity can be observed in many countries, though it is most evident in the US. In this paper we analyze historical ACT data over a 30-year span and correlate gender differences with ACT scores and expressed interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) related college majors. SPSS software was used to analyze the data and examine the historical trends of students' expressed interest in STEM related majors. Results show that there is a significant discrepancy between the number of men and women students who expressed interest in engineering majors. The data also show that social influences such as the emergence of computer fields including computer gaming and the dot.com era have profound influence in students' interest in STEM fields. To help develop specific strategies for timely remediation and help specific strategies for timely remediation