Soldiers to Scientists: Military Service, Gender, and STEM Degree Earning

Abstract

The authors use 2014–2018 data from the American Community Survey to answer two questions: To what extent is military service associated with higher rates of earning a bachelor’s degree in a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field (vs. a non-STEM field)? To what extent is this relationship gendered? The findings suggest that military service is associated with higher odds of completing a STEM degree and that this association is particularly strong for female veterans. Comparison across multiple STEM definitions suggests that military service does not simply channel women into traditionally female-dominated STEM fields. Instead, the findings show the biggest boost for women earning degrees in traditionally male-dominated STEM fields. The authors situate these findings in light of extant empirical and theoretical research on gender gaps in STEM and discuss implications for policy and research.

STEM Degrees and Military Service: An Intersectional Analysis

“…Analyses of American Community Survey data (ACS 2014–2018) presented here extend extant research, suggesting that even though a positive association between military service and STEM outcomes exists for women (Steidl et al, 2020; Werum et al, 2020), the same cannot be said universally for underrepresented minorities. In fact, among several groups of male veterans, intersectional patterns exacerbate classic disparities regarding STEM degrees earned.…”

“…Second, previous research has documented the underrepresentation of women and racial minorities in STEM (Flowers & Banda, 2015;Hanson, 2013;Kim et al, 2009;Riegle-Crumb et al, 2019;Whitten et al, 2007). And finally, previous research has shown a consistently positive association between military service and STEM degree earning, especially for women (Steidl et al, 2020;Werum et al, 2020). Thus, we expected to find that military service would similarly be associated with higher rates of STEM degree earning among Black and Hispanic veterans, in particular.…”

“…Indeed, undergraduate veterans are 44% more likely to declare a STEM major than nonveteran undergraduates (NCES, 2012). Previous research also has demonstrated a strong correlation between military service and STEM degrees earned, particularly for women (Steidl et al, 2020). However, to date no research has explored the extent to which this relationship holds across racial groups.…”

Presidential firepower: The effect of the presidential party on gun ownership, 1980–2018

“…Next, I introduce interaction terms in the models to examine the extent to which the odds of owning a firearm based on individual-level political identities are moderated by the political party of the president (H1b). To better understand the effect of the interaction terms on gun ownership-a binary measurefigures are developed by plotting the predicted probabilities (Steidl et al 2020). All results are reported in odds ratios (ORs), and robust standard errors are employed.…”

“…To better understand the effect of the interaction terms on gun ownership—a binary measure—figures are developed by plotting the predicted probabilities (Steidl et al. 2020). All results are reported in odds ratios (ORs), and robust standard errors are employed.…”