Institutions serving high math-achieving students have significantly narrowed the gender gap in physics, engineering, and computer science (PECS) majors over the past two decades, but the gap persists.
At institutions serving lower math-achieving students, the gender gap in PECS majors has widened dramatically, with male-to-female relative ratios increasing from 3.5:1 in 2002 to 7.1:1 in 2022.
The disparities in gender representation reflect institutional barriers rather than differences in math ability, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to recruit and retain women in PECS majors.