Women Who Major in Business or Science Less Likely To Marry

A new study has found that women who major in certain subjects in college are less likely to marry or have kids.

The study, conducted by researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, found that women who major in science and business suffer from a “marriage market” penalty in comparison to those who major in humanities or the social sciences.

Women who majored in either of these subjects were 10 percent less likely to married at the age of 23, and 15 percent less likely to be married at age 30.

In addition, working in a more lucrative field, such as business or science, can reduce a woman’s expected number of children by 48 percent, which pushes many women into a humanities-related major.

Although the study may be onto something, it shouldn’t be taken too seriously considering that it only studied 500 students at New York University (NYU). It also didn’t suggest that women would necessarily not get married or have children, but rather that they would take longer to do so.

This fits in line with the general American trend in which marriage and childbearing have been taking place at a later age.

It should be noted that women only make up 30 percent of the workforce at some of the largest tech companies. Women who embark upon a career in tech, science, or business are typically heavily scrutinized.

The phenomenon of men dominating in STEM careers is propagated in the media, making the notion even harder to dispel.

Ultimately, it may take a lot of effort from a number of parties to shift the tides.