ASIAN AMERICAN GENDER GAP IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Tracking Male versus Female College Students’ Paths toward Academic Careers

It is well known that Asian Americans are extraordinary educational achievers with higher levels of educational attainment and achievement than other racial groups (Flynn, 1991; Kao, 1995; Sue & Okazaki, 1990). While this phenomenon is often generalized to all Asian Americans regardless of their gender and attributed to home-related factors (e.g., child-rearing and socialization practices), very little is known about an Asian American gender gap that may arise from social stereotyping and institutional discrimination as well as differential parental expectations and family support for boys versus girls at home. Clearly, there is a gender gap across the board in traditionally male fields such as science and technology, where male and female students tend to show markedly different levels of academic interest, engagement, and achievement while in school, and ultimately different occupational choices after graduation. Asian Americans may not be free from such a pervasive gender gap problem, despite their relatively greater participation and accomplishment in science and technology.