More Women Finish College Than Men in US, Even in Every Racial Group Since 1995
Men often choose not to finish college, while women face financial barriers.
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Women dominate the education field this year after reports showed that about eight business schools reported record-high women enrollees, now they also surpass men when it comes to college degrees.
Recently, research showed that young women receive college degrees more than young men do. This is true for all racial and ethnic groups.
In fact, Pew Research shared that in 1995, men and women were approximately equally likely to have a college degree, at 25%. However, by 2023, women had increased by 22 points, whereas men grew by a mere 12 points. Now, only nearly half of Americans aged 25 to 34 have a bachelor's degree. Among these, slightly more are women than men, which is 47%t compared to 37%. This gap has opened massively over the decades, with women narrowly outpacing men in completing higher education.
Degree Holder Women Across Racial and Ethnical Groups
The college completion gap between the sexes exists across all major racial and ethnic groups, although size varies. For instance, White women are 10 points ahead of White men in obtaining a degree, whereas Black women are 12 points ahead of Black men. Hispanic women have also had improvement, with a 9-point advantage over Hispanic men.
Among Asian adults, there's a smaller gap when it comes to college degree holders, with men making nearly similar progress at 71% and Asian women at 77%.
To explain, a survey from 2021 shared by Brookings stated that most men reasoned that they are unable to continue with higher education. The results showed that men more readily say they simply do not want a degree, whereas women often cite financial constraints as the reason. This illustrates that personal choice and external factors both contribute to different ways among the gender divide in education.
Furthermore, the steady rise in women with degrees proves that women are more and more joining the professional field, often requiring them to earn more than a secondary degree. Reaching a just, fair, and equal educational process for all remains a challenge to equal access.
