  Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have the potential to democratize
education by providing learners with access to rich sources of information.
However, evidence supporting this democratization across countries is limited.
We explored the question of democratization by investigating whether females
from different countries were more likely to enroll in and complete STEM MOOCs
compared with males. We found that whereas females were less likely to enroll
in STEM MOOCs, they were equally likely to complete them. We found smaller
gender gaps in STEM MOOC enrollment in less economically developed countries.
Further, females were more likely than males to complete STEM MOOCs in
countries identified as having a high potential to become the largest economies
in the 21st century.
