Gender Differences in the Choice of College Majors and the Impact of Female Role Models

For years, significantly more men than women have chosen economics or STEM majors in the USA. Since the wages in these occupational fields are above average, this results in an increased gender pay gap and thus a socio-economic relevance of the topic. But how can we attract more women to economics and STEM majors? One approach is to focus more on female role model programmes. The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the literature on gender differences in the choice of college majors and the impact of female role models. The topic was examined in four sub-themes. First, the reasons for the gender difference in the choice of college majors were considered. Second, the psychological impact of (female) role models was analysed. Thirdly and fourthly, the impact of female role models on recruitment and retention in STEM and Economic majors was examined. A scoping search of the databases Google Scholar, EBSCO, JSTOR, ECONBIZ and wiso-net.de was conducted to identify suitable literature. 246 articles were identified, of which 46 were examined in more detail. As a result, it was found that the female role model effects in the university context are to be rated as high and therefore the recommendation can be made that they should be increasingly implemented in the future.