@BobShaw - I just detected a disconnect between the subject heading and the content of your post. The heading suggests some differential between the way LACs (i.e., small, residential liberal arts colleges) and big research universities recruit women STEM majors. BUT, the first sentence of the first paragraph conflates both LACs and the arts and science divisions of universities, inferring that they each may suffer from the same problem. If there is genuinely a problem across the board with all basic science, then, I don’tt know what the solution is. It seems to me that the beginnings of one would be at the grade school level, not senior year of h.s…
The more interesting question is, how do LACs compete with RUs for the very best STEM majors? Every statistic I have seen for the past twenty years suggests they are able to level the playing field by steering - on a per capita basis - just as many of their majors into PhD programs as the top twenty research universities. How? I suspect that small classes taught by professors engaged in publishable research have something to do with it.