Turing's Children: Representation of Sexual Minorities in STEM

Abstract: We provide the first nationally representative estimates of sexual minority representation in STEM fields by studying 142,641 men and women in same-sex couples from the 2009-2018 American Community Surveys. These data indicate that men in same-sex couples are 12 percentage points less likely to have completed a bachelor's degree in a STEM field compared to men in different-sex couples; there is no gap observed for women in same-sex couples compared to women in different-sex couples. The STEM gap between men in same-sex and different-sex couples is larger than the STEM gap between white and black men but is smaller than the gender STEM gap. We also document a gap in STEM occupations between men in same-sex and different-sex couples, and we replicate this finding using independently drawn data from the 2013-2018 National Health Interview Surveys. These differences persist after controlling for demographic characteristics, location, and fertility. Our findings further the call for interventions designed at increasing representation of sexual minorities in STEM.