Listed below are national statistics. For statistics specific to the Seattle area or Washington state, please see our series of blog posts on Seattle and Washington. If you want local statistics, if you have statistics to offer, or if you are willing to help with research please contact us.
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Gender Equality in Higher Education
and Labor Force Participation
Men go to college and earn degrees at lower rates than women. This has been the case since the 1980s, and it applies at all levels from associate’s degrees up through doctoral degrees. The percentages provided below draw attention to the inequality between males and females, with latest-available statistics rounded to the nearest 5%.
Gender equality in higher education and labor force participation calls for a country in which…
- more men enroll in U.S. colleges (currently 30% more women than men)
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Total fall enrollment, 2020
- more men enroll in U.S. graduate schools (currently 35% more women than men)
Source: Council for Graduate School, Graduate enrollment and degrees, 2019
Gender equality in higher education and labor force participation calls for a country in which…
- more men earn associate’s degrees (currently 55% more women than men)
- more men earn bachelor’s degrees (currently 35% more women than men)
- more men earn master’s degrees (currently 55% more women than men)
- more men earn doctor’s degrees (currently 20% more women than men)
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Degrees granted by postsecondary institutions, 2020
Gender equality in higher education and labor force participation calls for a country in which…
- fewer men who are recent college graduates but are not in the labor force (currently 20% more men than women)
- fewer men with recently-earned advanced degrees who are not in the labor force (currently 133% more men than women)
Source: Department of Labor, College enrollment and work activity of recent high school and college graduates, 2019
(This list is based on “For Every 100 Girls…2020 Update” compiled by Tom Mortenson and originally published by Education Week on March 28, 2011, then updated in 2020 by Professor Mark J. Perry.)