Is it a Matter of Skills? High School Choices and the Gender Gap in STEM

Contini Dalit (), Di Tommaso Maria Laura (), Maccagnan Anna () and Mendolia Silvia ()
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Contini Dalit: Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
Di Tommaso Maria Laura: Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
Maccagnan Anna: Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
Mendolia Silvia: Department of Economics, Social Studies, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, University of Torino, Turin, Italy

The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2025, vol. 25, issue 3, 549-576

Abstract: This paper examines whether the gender gap in skills, favoring boys in mathematics and girls in language, contributes to the gender gap in STEM choices in high school. While previous research has linked skills to educational choices, it finds little evidence that these explain the gender gap in university field of study. However, the transition to upper secondary school – especially in tracked systems – may involve different dynamics, with school performance playing a more important role. We analyze this transition in Italy, where students choose between different school types at 14. This choice is crucial for students who do not attend university and provides insights into gender segregation in the labor market at lower socio-economic levels. We show that skills influence educational choices, but among children of less educated parents do not explain the gender gap. However, ability partially mediates the gender gap among students of more advantaged backgrounds.

Keywords: high school choices; school tracking; gender gap; parental education; school grades; test scores (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 I24 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1515/bejeap-2024-0461

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