Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

In this article we provide preliminary evidence that in Colombia the gender gap in math is significantly reduced after attending college. Using a difference-in-difference technique, and data from the Colombian national standardized high school and college Exit Exams (approximately 50.000 students), we find that on average girls start college with significant lower quantitative skills than boys. However, after college, there is almost no gap between girls and boys. In fact, for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) majors, the gap tends to be zero. We also provide evidence that the gap is significantly different depending on the Colombian regions, suggesting that the specific characteristics of each region - for example cultural differences- might be influencing the academic performance of girls. Our preliminary findings are of special interest for policy makers in charge of gender equality goals (the Colombian government and the UN), as literature suggests that better performance of women in College is highly correlated to more access to employment opportunities for them -compared to men with similar skills- and to the development of a more equal society.