The persistent gender gap in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) career choice represents a perplexing problem for researchers and policy makers alike. We contribute to the body of research on the gender gap in STEM careers by testing a “surplus model” of vocational interests as a predictor of STEM career choice. The model suggests that, controlling for ability, female adolescents with strong STEM-related interest should be less likely to pursue STEM careers when they also have strong interests in other areas, due to wider career options. We tested the surplus model in a large national longitudinal data set and translated the results into differences in annual wages. Our findings illuminate the predictive validity of a surplus model of interests on STEM career choice across gender, provide insight into the gender gap in STEM, and suggest opportunities for future research.

STEM（科学，技术，工程和数学）职业选择中持续存在的性别鸿沟对研究人员和决策者来说都是一个困扰的问题。通过测试职业兴趣的“剩余模型”作为STEM职业选择的预测指标，我们为STEM职业中的性别差距研究做出了贡献。该模型表明，在控制能力的同时，对STEM具有强烈兴趣的女性青少年在从事STEM事业时也应该较少由于职业选择范围更广，对其他领域有浓厚的兴趣。我们在大型国家纵向数据集中测试了盈余模型，并将结果转换为年薪差异。我们的发现阐明了跨性别的STEM职业选择中剩余利益模型的预测有效性，提供了对STEM中性别差距的洞察力，并为未来的研究提供了机会。