Collaborative Research: Military Service as a Gendered Pathway into STEM

The project investigates how gender and military service shape decisions to pursue science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degrees and occupations. Research shows that military service is a pathway into STEM fields. The project examines how the timing of educational and occupational experiences shape STEM-related outcomes. It also focuses on how the influence of military service on STEM trajectories varies by gender ad across demographic groups. Thus, the project addresses the national need to increase the number of STEM professionals, diversify the STEM workforce, and optimize the recruitment of military personnel. Findings from this project assist decision-makers in how to finetune military recruitment and assignment strategies to optimize strategic growth and inclusion goals in the Armed Forces. Findings are also important to federal agencies committed to broadening participation in STEM, and to employers interested in recruiting and retaining a diverse STEM workforce. Identifying how military service influences subsequent STEM trajectories presents a timely and unique opportunity to strengthen both private- and public-sector institutions. The project pursues a two-pronged approach. First, large-sample analyses involve integrating multiple restricted-use data sources available via the U.S. Census Bureau’s Federal Statistical Research Data Centers/FSRDC to construct a longitudinal database spanning more than two decades: Decennial Census, American Community Survey, Department of Veterans’ Affairs U.S. Veterans File, National Survey of College Graduates; plus publicly-available data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. These analyses involve sophisticated statistical models on large samples based on millions of respondents in the FSRDC databases. Methodological contributions involve creating new population estimates sought by the U.S. Census Bureau and other federal agencies, plus conducting essential robustness checks that test several distinct STEM definitions used by federal agencies. Second, to examine the mechanisms that shape such trajectories of civilian and veteran students, the project relies on original survey data for a representative sample of current students at a major US university. This original survey compensates for limitations in the FSRDC data by homing in on the impact of specific skills and experiences, including those of student veterans. The survey data are made publicly available via a data repository, to enhance social science data infrastructure, dissemination, and transparency. This project is jointly funded by the Sociology Program, the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and the Science of Broadening Participation Program. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.