GENDER, FAMILY RESOURCES, AND SUCCESS IN SCIENCE

This research examines the effect of gender and family resources on su ccess in multiple areas of science. Science experiences are measured u sing longitudinal science trajectories. Findings show that young women are less likely than young men to persist in science, whether it is s cience achievement, access, or attitudes. Large numbers of women perma nently exit the science pipeline after their sophomore year of high sc hool. However, results from the science trajectory models show that am ong men and women who are equally qualified women are not necessarily less likely to persist in science. Results also show that young men ha ve more family resources than young women and some of the total effect of gender on science experiences involves an indirect effect through family resources. In addition, gender interacts with family resources with the effects of many resources being stronger for women than for m en.