Percentage of bachelor's degrees awarded to women in STEM fields from 1985-2013. Of note is the stark decrease in enrollment in Computer Science, but a gradual increase in all other observed STEM fields.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Cheriyan et. al performed a meta-analysis of over 300 articles to investigate the gender disparity in STEM enrollment. Rather than treating college-level STEM courses as a homogenous whole, Cheriyan et. al investigated differences between individual STEM fields, using a sociocultural perspective. Three key factors that, when combined, contributed to the gender disparity:
- Masculine culture in a field: a social and structural environment that confers a greater sense of belonging and ability to succeed to men than women.
- Lack of early STEM experience: the lack of courses offered or exposure to field in pre-college education.
- Gender gaps in self-efficacy: female students' impression that they are "less competent" than their male counterparts, despite performance metrics that would indicate otherwise.

Gender Disparities in STEM Enrollment

Cheryan, Sapna, et al. Why are some STEM fields more gender balanced than others?. Psychological bulletin 143.1 (2017): 1.

Why are some STEM fields more gender balanced than others?

Note that "masculine culture" refers to a culture that favors men over women, rather than a culture of masculinity.

Gender Disparities in Stem Enrollment - Causal Diagram

In certain STEM fields, a certain set of beliefs and norms entrenched in that field may make it more difficult for female students to feel like they belong. Notably, some fields (like Computer Science) were "made masculine", aggregating certain norms that made it progressively less welcoming for women. Cheriyan et. al propose the following possible contributors to "masculine culture":
- Stereotypes of the field
- Negative Stereotypes and Perceived Bias
- Lack of Role Models

Gender Disparities - Masculine Culture

Gender Disparities - STEM Enrollment trends

Some STEM fields are less accessible to students prior to college, thus creating disparities in field interest from an early age. 
- Few course offerings: physics, computer engineering, and general engineering are less likely to be offered at a high school level when compared to other STEM courses (such as biology, chemistry, and mathematics).
- Freedom to choose courses: state/district requirements for graduation can place a heavier bias towards towards "core" STEM fields such as math and biology. In addition, in situations where STEM-based courses are not mandatory for graduation, students are less likely to pursue STEM fields during college.
- Differences in early educational experiences: despite female students slightly outnumbering male students in both high school math and science, the quality of learning and engagement still differs. Female students are found to spend more time on rote and low-level activities (homework, reading textbooks) while male students trend towards high-level activities (projects, personal investigations).

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