A Major Milestone in Gender Equality in STEM at Cornell University

For the first-time ever, 50 percent of undergraduates enrolled in the College of Engineering at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, are women. This far surpasses the national average for women in engineering programs, which stands at 22.9 percent.

A noticeable change has been seen in women’s interest in computer science at Cornell. In the 2017-2018 school year, 38 percent of computer science majors were women. This year, this has increased to 55 percent. Additionally women STEM students are succeeding at Cornell. Last year’s graduating class from the College of Engineering had an average 3.4 grade point average and a graduation rate of 88 percent for both male and female students.

Cornell credits its diversity efforts such as summer engineering workshops for girls, student-run women engineering clubs, and a college-hosted Women in Engineering Day for newly enrolled students for its success in increasing the number of women in STEM fields.