The loss of women from science, mathematics, and engineering undergraduate majors: An explanatory account

Abstract The reasons for the loss of high ability women from science, mathematics, and engineering undergraduate majors are not well understood. However, investigators have, consistently, found an early loss of confidence in their ability to “do science” among such women. In seeking to explain why the vulnerability of women to leaving science majors greatly exceeds that of men, the author draws upon the findings of a 3‐year, ethnographic study of factors contributing to high undergraduate attrition rates among men and women of different ethnicities on seven campuses of different type. The explanatory focus is upon the consequences of a misfit between the learned expectations of women entering college mathematics and science classes, and those of faculty and male peers, about the purpose and nature of the undergraduate experience in these majors. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.