Gender Matters: An Examination of Differential Effects of the College Experience on Degree Attainment in STEM Joy Gaston Gayles, Frim D. Ampaw Although more women than men are enrolled in college within the United States, women remain underrepresented in critical areas of study such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This is particu- larly concerning given that STEM fields of study are vital to the economic growth and workforce development within the United States (Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology, 2006; National Science Board, 2006). In order for the United States to maintain its status as a competitor in addressing global issues, it will be imperative to increase and diversify the U.S. STEM workforce. The loss of women in STEM fields at critical junctures of the education pipeline has received national attention over the past few decades, and federal support has been earmarked for attracting and retaining women and other underrepresented populations in STEM fields. Although it is true that women have made gains in bachelor’s degree attainment in STEM over the past thirty years, a closer look at the data shows that they have not reached parity with their male counterparts. A critical issue of con- cern is the high number of women who enter college with an interest in STEM and the low number of women who actually complete a STEM bach- elor’s degree six years later (Huang, Taddese, and Walter, 2000). Literature on Women in STEM There is a vast amount of empirical literature on the status and experiences of women in STEM in response to the national attention directed toward This chapter summarizes the results from a study that examined differential effects of the college experience on degree completion in STEM by gender. The finding that some experiences are more or less influential for women in the study has important implications for institutional research. 19 NEW DIRECTIONS FOR INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH, no. 152, Winter 2011 © Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) • DOI: 10.1002/ir.405 2