Locating and understanding the largest gender differences in pathways to science degrees

While gender parity has been achieved in overall science degree earning, large gaps still exist within many science disciplines. Further, studies addressing gender inequity in science often ignore a large source of undergraduate science degree earners: those who enroll in science courses intending to pursue careers in health or medicine. This study examines pathways toward or away from science degrees in N = 4,345 men and women enrolled in early science courses at a large undergraduate research university. Importantly, to understand shifts in students' academic intentions and how pathways to science may be differential by gender, this study analyzed students' incoming major and career intentions, estimates of incoming academic abilities, and relative performance in science and various non‐science courses. Results show that while men and women initially intending to pursue a science major graduate with science degrees in equal numbers, the plurality of science degree earners are students entering college intending health or medical careers. Further, from those subgroups, a significantly larger proportion of men end up in science, while a significantly larger proportion of women end up outside of STEM completely. Understanding disciplinary differences in gender barriers to science participation can help inform interventions that specifically target those populations.