In STEM areas of study, men earn most of the bachelor’s degrees in computer science and engineering, while women tend to favor psychology, biology and social-science programs. In fact, the overall number of bachelor’s degrees earned by women in the physical sciences, mathematics, and computer sciences fell over the past decade. PSC research Erin Cech, who studies gender equity in science and engineering, says the biases that eat away at women’s confidence in these fields are “pernicious and stubborn….If we had a silver bullet, it would be solved already.”

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