Are female doctoral students less satisfied with doctoral experiences? Mechanisms and Evidence from 108 Countries

Abstract There is a lack of empirical studies exploring gender differences on satisfaction with doctoral experiences. Based on the 2019 Nature Global Doctoral Survey data, our empirical research results indicate that female doctoral students were significantly less satisfied with doctoral studies than males and were more likely to experience a decline in satisfaction. This result has passed a series of robustness checks. The mechanism analysis reveals that the lower satisfaction of female doctoral students stems from a higher probability of experiencing gender discrimination by 12.3% compared to males, a 6.81% higher likelihood of facing sexual harassment, and greater difficulty for females in maintaining a good work-life balance. In addition, heterogeneity analysis shows that the negative impact of overwork on the satisfaction of female doctoral students is more pronounced. Based on this, this study proposes policy implications.