What researchers studied

Quasi-experimental administrative study combining near-random introductory instructor assignment with plausibly exogenous first advisor assignment. 2,999 first-time first-year students who took introductory economics at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse from fall 2009 through fall 2019, with outcomes observed through summer 2025

What they found

  • Among women, advanced economics course-taking was 14.3 percent with a male instructor and male advisor and 22.7 percent with a female instructor and female advisor.
  • The women versus men gap in advanced economics course-taking narrowed from 9.0 percentage points in the male instructor and male advisor group to 3.2 points in the female instructor and female advisor group.
  • Men showed no comparable combined pattern. Economics major completion moved in the same direction, but the authors treated it as suggestive because major completion was rare.

What the study does not prove

  • The evidence comes from one regional broad-access public university and one academic field.
  • Instructor assignment was near-random within course time cells, while advisor assignment was plausibly exogenous rather than experimentally randomized.
  • The design cannot distinguish among belonging, encouragement, academic planning, grade sensitivity, or other mechanisms.
  • Economics major completion was rare, so the study's strongest evidence concerns advanced course-taking rather than degree completion.

Evidence strength: Strong quasi-experimental design with extensive robustness checks for advanced course-taking; one institution, plausibly exogenous advising, and a rare completion outcome limit generalization and mechanism claims.

Why this matters for families

When a student is considering a demanding field, ask who helps them believe they belong and who helps them map the path forward.

Noor interpretation

How Noor translates the evidence into practice

Representation may help a student see possibility, while advising turns that signal into a feasible next step. Confidence and planning can reinforce one another.

Noor Lyra connects encouragement with course sequencing, quantitative skill support, honest feedback, and an academic plan that makes the student's next step visible.

Read the original source

Noor links to the original or authoritative source so families can distinguish the evidence itself from our interpretation.

Open original source →

DOI: 10.26300/dsqm-bm07

Research notes

women in economicscollege persistenceacademic advisinghigher educationrole models

No single study determines a student's plan. Noor uses research as one input alongside the learner's goals, observed performance, academic context, and response to instruction.