Abstract

Academia, in much of the world, has long been disproportionately populated by men. This pattern, at least in the social sciences, may be changing. We explore the shifting gender gap in political science in Kazakhstan, and then set out to explore potential determinants of the changes as well as the resulting employment patterns. We use time-series data to demonstrate that a rising GDP, shifting fertility rates, occupational prestige and a growing population are related to the increase in the number of women entering political science in Kazakhstan, which, nevertheless, has not resulted in employment parity.