Christy Starr

How do adolescents and young adults decide on what career they want, what courses to enroll in, and what majors to declare? Why do some majors and careers have high equity across gender, race/ethnicity, and other demographic categories, while others are unbalanced? And what can we do to improve equity, as practitioners, parents, teachers, and as a larger society? These are some of the big questions I explore in my research. My special focus is on STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math). I examine how both barriers (such as stereotypes) and sources of support (such as parents) relate to young peoples’ confidence, interest, and persistence in STEM.