Gender Differences in Attitudes Toward Science and Technology Among Majors

In the USA, women have consistently been proportionally underrepresented in science and technology (S&T). In these disciplines, as students move from high schools to colleges to graduate programs, qualified women drop out at higher rates than do men, resulting in a striking loss of talented students. Attitude toward a discipline is one of the major factors in students’ choice of majors. As a result, attitudes toward S&T are issues with longstanding attention and interest in education research. Retention of female students in S&T majors remains a major concern. The purpose of the study was to investigate attitudes toward S&T including attitudes toward female participation in S&T, among S&T majors, and examine differences by gender and class standing. Such an investigation would provide deeper insights to help devise strategies to retain women in S&T majors.