Are girls discriminated against in science? The lessons of the ENS entrance exam.

Summary Stereotypes and social norms push girls toward literary studies rather than science. The purpose of this IPP note is to examine the extent to which professors are likely to reinforce this self-selection by discriminating against young women who attempt to enter male-dominated disciplines. By using the entrance exam to the École normale supérieure in Paris as a "natural experiment", we show that the opposite phenomenon is actually at work. Discrimination works in favor of girls in traditionally male-dominated subjects (mathematics or philosophy, for example), while it works in favor of boys in subjects deemed more "feminine" (biology or literature), thus slightly reducing the gender segregation between disciplines. The tendency of examiners to discriminate against candidates on the basis of their sex is identified from the differences between the results of anonymous written tests (which neutralize gender discrimination) and oral tests (where the sex of the candidates is known to the examiners). This discrimination goes against gender stereotypes. It is likely to be explained by the fact that examiners are trying to help - consciously or unconsciously - the minority sex in their discipline. These results suggest that girls can enter traditionally male-dominated fields of study without fear of discrimination.