Gender gaps in grades versus grade penalties: why grade anomalies may be more detrimental for women aspiring for careers in biological sciences

International Journal of STEM Education

Table 4 Average grade anomalies (AGAs), grades, and between-gender effect sizes for each course of interest

Course	N	Women					Men
		AGA		Grade			AGA		Grade		Cohen’s d
		Mean	SD	Mean	SD	N	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	AGA	Grades
Calculus 1	527	− 0.85	1.55	2.53	1.17	491	− 0.89	1.52	2.32	1.26	− 0.03	− 0.18^b
Biology 1	1078	− 0.76	1.16	2.63	1.03	662	− 0.60	1.00	2.68	1.05	0.14^b	0.04
Biology 2	993	− 0.70	0.77	2.67	0.90	637	− 0.57	0.78	2.72	0.94	0.16^b	0.05
Chem. 1	1046	− 0.51	1.11	2.87	0.87	700	− 0.40	1.04	2.91	0.88	0.10^c	0.04
Chem. 2	986	− 0.59	0.80	2.80	0.92	687	− 0.56	0.88	2.76	1.02	0.03	− 0.05
Genetics	463	− 0.67	0.92	2.70	1/08	312	− 0.58	0.84	2.75	1.09	0.07	0.02
Organic 1	983	− 1.07	1.12	2.35	1.16	631	− 0.89	1.02	2.48	1.11	0.16^b	0.11^c
Organic 2	673	− 1.10	1.00	2.29	1.19	462	− 0.94	1.02	2.43	1.22	0.16^b	0.11
Physics 1	1572	− 0.75	0.94	2.56	1.04	1113	− 0.49	0.95	2.67	1.14	0.28^a	0.11^b
Hum. Phy	626	− 0.27	0.80	3.11	0.94	384	− 0.32	0.76	3.12	0.92	0.07	0.02
Biochem	508	− 0.70	0.88	2.72	1.04	378	− 0.64	0.91	2.75	1.09	0.07	0.02
Physics 2	776	− 0.61	0.68	2.78	0.89	574	− 0.54	0.86	2.80	1.06	0.09	0.02

A bold Cohen’s d signifies that a t test showed significant differences between men and women. The following abbreviations are used: Human Physiology (Hum. Phy.), Biochemistry (Biochem.), Organic Chemistry (Organic), and Chemistry (Chem)
^a indicates that p < 0.001
^b indicated that p < 0.01
^c indicates p < 0.05