Several studies have evaluated the progress of women through various stages of the academic pipeline in STEM fields.  This study focused on the proportion of women in the pipeline from degree completions to faculty positions.  The report describes data collected by the Association of American Universities Data Exchange (AAUDE) from multiple sources.

1. Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System Human Resources (IPEDS) for faculty headcounts at all degree-granting institutions
2. Faculty Profile by Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) for 35 AAUDE institutions
3. IPEDS Completions for counts of bachelor and doctoral degrees at all doctoral-research institutions and 67 additional institutions

The data show:

• there are more women in the assistant professor rank than in the associate or full professor rank
• there was a 27% increase in the number of women receiving bachelor degrees in STEM fields in 2009-10 when compared to 2003-04
• there was a 63% increase in the number of women receiving doctoral degrees in STEM fields in 2009-10 when compared to 2003-04.  

The report also emphasizes the need for further research to identify barriers to increasing the proportion of women in STEM fields, and to analyze the demographics of non-tenure-line professorial faculty.

Download the full report here.