In Certain Science and Engineering Fields, Sex Diversity Among Graduate Students Is Stagnating. In Others, It’s Getting Worse.

By Jason Kao | May 3, 2019

Female representation in Physics1994199619982000200220042006200820102012201420160%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%Percent femaleEQUAL NUMBER OF MEN AND WOMENTOTALS40%40%Mathematics and statistics48%48%Physics10%10%28%28%10%10%

The percentage of female graduate students in science and engineering fields at Columbia has remained virtually unchanged since 1998.

However, the overall stagnation in the representation of female graduate students in science and engineering shrouds a more complicated picture underneath.

Some fields have seen a large increase in the representation of female graduate students. From 2003 to 2016, mathematics and statistics quickly reached and maintained sex parity.

But other fields have seen the reverse trend: a widening gap. During that same time frame, sex disparities have grown significantly in the physical sciences, especially in physics.

Despite this stagnation, The Eye’s analysis, which includes 30 fields in seven broad areas, found that the balance between the sexes in individual fields tended to align with their larger areas of study, and that the push toward parity in certain fields has been masking other fields’ trouble in narrowing their sex gap.

Our analysis extends from 1994, the earliest year that such institution- and field-specific data was available from the National Science Foundation, to 2016, the most recent. (Columbia did not report data for several fields between 2001 and 2003. See the methodology at the end of this article for further details.) In particular, we looked at the sex field, which offered the options “female” and “male” in the survey.

While some numbers are troubling, the University has expressed its commitment to the expansion of its Bridge to the Ph.D. pipeline program, which encourages undergraduates from underrepresented groups to apply to Ph.D. programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Engineering

Engineering includes the following fields: biomedical engineering; civil engineering; engineering science, mechanics, and physics; industrial and manufacturing engineering; electrical engineering; and mechanical engineering.

In 1994, there were 57 female and 426 male graduate students in engineering fields at Columbia.

Up until 2010, the overall engineering student population saw dramatic growth, nearly tripling in size.

During this time, the male population consistently experienced a faster growth rate, so the female percentage of engineering students remained a meager 23 percent.

After 2010, however, the growth of female graduate students accelerated, and the field has since been trending toward sex parity.

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,800Number of female students02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,800Number of male students25% FEMALEEQUAL NUMBER OF MEN AND WOMEN75% FEMALEMORE MALE STUDENTSMORE FEMALE STUDENTSNUMBEROF MALESTUDENTSNUMBEROF FEMALESTUDENTS1994199419951995199619961997199719981998199919992000200020042004200520052006200620072007200820082009200920102010201120112012201220132013201420142015201520162016

Yet this increase in female population has been concentrated in only two fields: biomedical engineering and industrial and manufacturing engineering.

Biomedical Engineering19952000200520102015020406080Number of graduate studentsMaleMaleFemaleFemaleIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering199520002005201020150100200300400500MaleMaleFemaleFemale

The other four fields in engineering also saw a significant increase in their graduate student populations, but their growth patterns only widened pre-existing sex disparities. The fields’ growth patterns are generally similar: Male and female populations grow at first, often quite rapidly. Soon after this initial rise, however, female population growth slows while the male population continues to grow, widening the sex gap.

Mechanical Engineering19952000200520102015050100150200250Number of graduate studentsMaleMaleFemaleFemaleEngineering Science, Mechanics, and Physics19952000200520102015050100150MaleMaleFemaleFemaleElectrical Engineering199520002005201020150100200300400500600MaleMaleFemaleFemaleCivil Engineering19952000200520102015050100150200MaleMaleFemaleFemale

Compared to those at peer institutions—such as other Ivies and elite institutions—these fields at Columbia, with the exception of “engineering science, mechanics, and physics,” which is not included in this comparison due to a lack of available data, have lagged behind in their percentage of female students in the last two decades. In the entirety of engineering, Columbia has risen from the bottom of the pack to just below average.

Computer Sciences

199520002005201020150100200300400500Number of graduate studentsMaleMaleFemaleFemale

Women remain underrepresented in the computer sciences. In 1994, 19 percent of graduate students in the computer sciences were female. By 2016, this number had only risen to 22 percent.

The number of female graduate students stagnated in 2004, and did not start rising again until several years later. Between 1994 and 2016, the male population saw a significant net increase, though it saw a steady decline from 2002 until 2009, when it began rising with the female population.

From 2015 to 2016, the number of graduate students in the computer sciences fell dramatically. The male population decreased by 31 students; the female population decreased by 73.

Physical Sciences

Physical sciences include the following fields: physics; chemistry; astronomy and astrophysics.

19952000200520102015050100150200Number of graduate studentsMaleMaleFemaleFemale199520002005201020150%20%40%60%80%100%Percent femaleEQUAL NUMBER OF MEN AND WOMENLIGHT LINES = PEER INSTITUTIONS

A rising female population and a wavering male population led the physical sciences to its highest-ever percentage of female graduate students, 37, in 2008. Since then, however, the female population in the physical sciences has fallen considerably. In 2016, less than 29 percent of graduate students in the physical sciences were women.

Physics19952000200520102015020406080Number of graduate studentsMaleMaleFemaleFemalePhysics199520002005201020150%20%40%60%80%100%Percent femaleEQUAL NUMBER OF MEN AND WOMENLIGHT LINES = PEER INSTITUTIONS

This decline in the number of women was largely driven by physics. Though the number of female graduate students in physics more than tripled in size from 1994 to 2006, it fell just as quickly in the following decade.

In 1994, Columbia was at the bottom of the pack among peer institutions in percentage of female graduate students in physics. By 2006, Columbia was almost leading the pack. But in recent years, it has returned to the bottom.

Chemistry19952000200520102015020406080100Number of graduate studentsMaleMaleFemaleFemaleChemistry199520002005201020150%20%40%60%80%100%Percent femaleEQUAL NUMBER OF MEN AND WOMENLIGHT LINES = PEER INSTITUTIONS

Chemistry contributed significantly to the physical sciences’ initial rise in female representation. In the first eight years of the 21st century, the number of men in chemistry grew, then shrunk dramatically. During this period, the number of women grew steadily, leading chemistry to its highest female percentage, 46, in 2008.

In the following years, however, with the male population slowly increasing and the female population slowly decreasing, the female percentage had fallen back to 37. That’s just one percentage point higher than in 1994, and nine points lower than its peak in 2008.

Mathematics and Statistics

Mathematics and statistics includes the following fields: mathematics and applied mathematics; statistics.

199520002005201020150100200300400Number of graduate studentsMaleMaleFemaleFemale199520002005201020150%20%40%60%80%100%Percent femaleEQUAL NUMBER OF MEN AND WOMENLIGHT LINES = PEER INSTITUTIONS

Mathematics and statistics has seen a significant rise in female representation in the last two decades, likely contributing to the fact that Columbia has seen an overall stagnation rather than decline in graduate student sex diversity. In 1994, only 24 percent of graduate students in mathematics and statistics fields were women. By 2016, this number had grown to 49.

Columbia, once below average among peer institutions, is a leader in this percentage.

Statistics19952000200520102015050100150200250300350Number of graduate studentsMaleMaleFemaleFemaleStatistics199520002005201020150%20%40%60%80%100%Percent femaleEQUAL NUMBER OF MEN AND WOMENLIGHT LINES = PEER INSTITUTIONS

Though statistics has long been a major contributor to this parity, this hasn’t always been the case. From 2000 to 2004, while male population growth accelerated, female population growth slowed, leading to a sex gap similar to those in the engineering fields. However, the field returned to parity in 2011 and has stayed there since.

Mathematics and Applied Mathematics19952000200520102015050100150Number of graduate studentsMaleMaleFemaleFemaleMathematics and Applied Mathematics199520002005201020150%20%40%60%80%100%Percent femaleEQUAL NUMBER OF MEN AND WOMENLIGHT LINES = PEER INSTITUTIONS

Mathematics and applied mathematics have seen a strong push toward parity as well. In 1994, only 13 percent of graduate students in mathematics and applied mathematics were women. By 2016, this number had risen to 42.

Psychology and the Social Sciences

Psychology and the social sciences includes the following fields: anthropology; psychology, general; economics; political science and government; sociology; and social sciences not elsewhere classified.

With a few exceptions, fields in psychology and the social sciences that have been male-dominated have remained male-dominated, and those that have been female-dominated have remained female-dominated.

Anthropology19952000200520102015020406080100120Number of graduate studentsMaleMaleFemaleFemalePsychology, General19952000200520102015051015202530MaleMaleFemaleFemaleEconomics (except Agricultural)19952000200520102015020406080100120MaleMaleFemaleFemaleSocial Sciences Not Elsewhere Classified19952000200520102015050100150200250MaleMaleFemaleFemale

(Social sciences not elsewhere classified include area studies, gender studies, and disability studies.)

The exceptions are political science and government and sociology, both of which have approached parity in the last two decades.

Political Science and Government19952000200520102015050100150200250Number of graduate studentsMaleMaleFemaleFemaleSociology199520002005201020150102030405060MaleMaleFemaleFemale

Biological Sciences

Biological sciences includes the following fields: biometry and epidemiology; biosciences not elsewhere classified; biochemistry; biology; biophysics; genetics; microbiology, immunology, and virology; nutrition; pharmacology and toxicology; and physiology.

Two of the largest fields in the biological sciences, biometry and epidemiology and “biosciences not elsewhere classified” (which includes evolutionary and environmental biology) have seen an expanding disparity between the sexes.

Biometry and Epidemiology19952000200520102015050100150200Number of graduate studentsMaleMaleFemaleFemaleBiosciences Not Elsewhere Classified199520002005201020150204060MaleMaleFemaleFemale

All other fields in the biological sciences maintained or reached parity in the time frame of this analysis, but several are too small in size to discern a meaningful trend.

Biochemistry199520002005201020150102030Number of graduate studentsMaleMaleFemaleFemaleBiology19952000200520102015010203040506070MaleMaleFemaleFemaleBiophysics199520002005201020150102030405060MaleMaleFemaleFemaleGenetics19952000200520102015051015202530MaleMaleFemaleFemaleMicrobiology, Immunology, and Virology19952000200520102015051015202530MaleMaleFemaleFemaleNutrition19952000200520102015051015202530MaleMaleFemaleFemalePharmacology and Toxicology19952000200520102015051015MaleMaleFemaleFemalePhysiology19952000200520102015051015MaleMaleFemaleFemale

The gaps between the sexes in biometry and epidemiology and “biosciences not elsewhere classified” are clearly pronounced in the biological sciences overall.

Biological Sciences199520002005201020150100200300400Number of graduate studentsMaleMaleFemaleFemaleBiological Sciences199520002005201020150%20%40%60%80%100%Percent femaleEQUAL NUMBER OF MEN AND WOMENLIGHT LINES = PEER INSTITUTIONS

Earth, Atmospheric, and Ocean Sciences

19952000200520102015020406080100120140Number of graduate studentsMaleMaleFemaleFemale199520002005201020150%20%40%60%80%100%Percent femaleEQUAL NUMBER OF MEN AND WOMENLIGHT LINES = PEER INSTITUTIONS

Amid a significant, steady increase in student population, earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences fields have reached and since surpassed sex parity.

* * *

The steady line of stagnation among female representation in the graduate sciences, this closer look at the National Science Foundation shows, masks significant shifts and troubling declines in certain fields.

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Sources: National Science Foundation Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering

Notes: Student populations by demographic are reported by universities to the National Science Foundation. They may contain mistakes or missing data.

Peer institutions included the seven other Ivies, MIT, Stanford, and the University of Chicago.

Anatomy, cell and molecular biology, ecology, neurobiology and neuroscience, chemical engineering, “engineering not elsewhere classified,” and mining engineering were excluded from individual analysis because they had data missing for more than half of the years of this analysis. Some empty data was assumed to be zero due to historical factors, notably the creation, destruction, or renaming of certain departments. Columbia did not report data for several other fields between 2001 and 2003; broader trends in this timeframe were ignored.