Gender Peer Effects in Doctoral STEM Programs

This study finds that women entering cohorts with no female peers are 11.9 % less likely to graduate within 6 years than their male counterparts. A one standard deviation increase in the percentage of female students differentially increases the probability of on-time graduation for women by 4.6 %. These gender peer effects function primarily through changes in the probability of dropping out in the first year of a Ph.D. program and are largest in programs that are typically male-dominated.