Sudeshna Dasgupta

PhD; Senior Associate Editor, Physical Sciences, Editage

Worked with several ESL authors to help them publish their research in leading journals. She has also worked as a researcher in mega-scale physics projects in India and Europe.

Inadequate representation of women in STEM research: The “leaky pipeline”

Most of us are aware that women are underrepresented in academia. At different stages of life, distinct social-psychological factors contribute to the high attrition rate of women in STEM fields, often called the leaky pipeline. This article takes a look at three important developmental periods in a woman’s life and describes how specific learning environments, peer relations, and family characteristics pose as obstacles in each period, leading to gender differences in STEM participation and achievement.