From Bachelor to Master Degree: a first sight of STEM graduates' choices

In Italy, as in much of the world, the presence of women in STEM disciplines and jobs is chronically lower than that of men. Many countries are taking action to encourage women to pursue studies and careers in those fields, adopting ad hoc policies. The study focuses on the decisionpathway of a STEM bachelor's degree in Italy. The data concern individual data of two cohorts of matriculates (2016 and 2018), relating to pre- and post-pandemic graduates, in order to take into account, as a possible determining factor, the social context of reference. The primary questions addressed are whether graduates opt to pursue further studies and, if so, whether they choose to follow the STEM pathway and remain at the same institution. In addition, we also focus on the possible association between the choices made and the gender of the student. Preliminary results suggested by a Multiple Correspondence Analysis approach seem to indicate that there is no effect associated with the pandemic crisis but that the choices seem to be partly dictated by gender, academic success, geographical location, and the type of diploma held (more or less consistent with a STEM educational path).