As these industries tend to be some of the fastest growing and highest paying in the US today, this gender divide contributes significantly to gender-based occupational segregation and wage inequality in this country. As an economist with a focus on the role gender plays in determining labor market outcomes and opportunities, I am interested in addressing the following question: what is the extent of occupational segregation in STEM fields (and particularly, information technology) both currently and historically and how does it compare to other industries in the US? In answering this question, I hope to begin to either identify or refute the possibility of a negative feedback loop that may run between the presence of women currently in STEM fields and the presence of the next generation of women in these fields. That is, this work aims to begin to understand the origin of this gender divide by identifying both its supply and demand side determinants.
I welcome students interested in economics, labor market, or gender issues.