Is the playing field finally leveling in math-intensive sciences?

Science · Published 22 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: While women remain underrepresented in many STEM fields, a landmark study suggests a surprising shift. In math-heavy disciplines, the barriers of gender discrimination are fading, leaving a landscape where professional fulfillment and opportunity may no longer depend on gender.

A comprehensive analysis published in November 2014 in Psychological Science in the Public Interest examined the changing landscape for women in academic science [S1]. The research, led by Shulamit Kahn, Wendy M. Williams, Stephen J. Ceci, and Donna K. Ginther, looked at trends spanning from the 1970s through the early 2000s. Their findings revealed a stark divide between math-intensive and non-math-intensive academic paths.

In 'GEEMP' fields—which include geoscience, engineering, economics, mathematics, computer science, and physical sciences—the researchers found that gender discrimination has ceased being a valid cause of underrepresentation [S2:<0xE2><0x80><0x8A>p3]. For women who earn PhDs in these areas, the playing field has leveled: they face equal opportunities for interviews, comparable pay rates, equivalent access to tenure-track jobs, and similar rates of grant funding and manuscript acceptance. In fact, women in these fields report feeling just as professionally fulfilled as men, despite still being underrepresented.

However, the trend does not hold for 'LPS' fields, such as biology, psychology, and the social sciences. In these less math-intensive disciplines, women are less likely to earn PhDs or secure assistant professorships, often opting for health or people-related occupations instead. The researchers noted that while differences in math ability or career expectations emerge as early as kindergarten, the disparity in academic success persists in these non-math fields, where women are less likely to achieve tenure or promotion.

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