ABSTRACT
It is well known that Asian Americans are extraordinary educational achievers with higher levels of educational attainment and achievement than other racial groups. While this phenomenon is often generalized to all Asian Americans regardless of their gender and attributed to home-related factors, very little is known about an Asian American gender gap that may arise from social stereotyping and institutional discrimination as well as differential parental expectations and family support for boys versus girls at home. Asian Americans may not be free from a pervasive gender gap problem, despite their relatively greater participation and accomplishment in science and technology. Further research is needed to examine the interaction of psychological, cultural, and institutional factors that result in different career paths in science, math, and engineering (SME) fields for male versus female college students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Asian male students have higher academic achievement in SME fields than their Black, Hispanic, and White male counterparts.
