By Kendal Furman, Academic EIC
WHAT IS THE COLLEGE GENDER GAP?
Efforts to expand access to higher education for women began in the 19th century with the 1839 opening of Wesleyan College in Georgia. This revolutionary institution served as the first women’s college in the world, as well as the first college in America that granted degrees to women. Following this monumental advancement, activists pushed the narrative that schooling provides empowerment for women, proving extremely successful in their fight for women’s participation in higher education–despite significant obstacles. Nearly two centuries later, however, gender inequality in universities has been reversed, pointing to the need for further activism in order to achieve and maintain gender parity at last.
Up until the late 1980s, men outnumbered women at every level of post-secondary education, with men earning more associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees than women. By 1990, roughly 32% of both male and female high school graduates were attending college. This gender parity, however, was quick to dissipate as women began to surpass men in 1994. Since then, gender inequality disfavoring men in higher education has only worsened, with 1.6 million more women earning a bachelor’s degree in 2020 than their male counterparts. This gender gap is prevalent in every U.S. state, with women now making up about 60% of all college students in the country.
This trend doesn’t begin in college either. Rather, grade school girls in every state across the country were seen outperforming boys on state-level standardized reading tests by more than 40% of a grade level between the years 2009 and 2018. This gender gap persists in high school as well, with men in 2021 being roughly 6.5% less likely than women to graduate on time.
It’s important to note that this growing exclusion of men from higher education predominately pertains to middle-class white men who have historically made up the majority of male college students in this country. For young men of color, systemic barriers of racism and poverty have inhibited their ability to participate in higher education for centuries. Additionally, while America has seen an overall decline in the number of men attending college, men continue to dominate business and STEM fields, leadership roles within the workplace, and labor force participation when compared to their female counterparts. Despite these notable caveats, the college gender gap is real–and it’s essential to understand why it’s happening.
REASONS BEHIND GENDER DISPARITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Scholars have presented a wide array of theories in regard to the reasons behind the college gender gap, but many can agree on a few key contributing factors. To start, men have historically been more likely to pursue labor-intensive jobs that don’t require a college degree, with many opting to go to a trade school or participate in an apprenticeship program in lieu of attending university.
Furthermore, a college education benefits women more than it does men. Specifically, women receive a 6% higher boost in earnings from receiving an associate’s or bachelor’s degree than a man does from receiving the same degree. While women continue to be at a disadvantage when it comes to the income gap, a college education has been proven to bolster income prospects more for women than men.
Additionally, women have experienced higher rates of encouragement and support in favor of attending college in recent years. This is largely due to the popularization of the feminist movement which has encouraged women to seek financial independence and to take on more responsibility when it comes to financially supporting their families.
Another possible explanation for gender disparity in higher education has to do with the disproportionate amount of incarcerated men in America. With the percentage of inmates in the federal system doubling between the years 1990 and 1995, and with women making up only 6.9% of the currently incarcerated population in the U.S., it’s no wonder why men have become increasingly excluded from higher education since the 1990s.
Finally, biological differences between men and women provide some explanation for the college gender gap as well. Psychologists have found that, “while girls and boys have similar IQ scores, girls get better grades thanks to their superior self-control and ability to delay gratification.” Moreover, teenage males have proven to be less adept at completing tasks that require executive functioning, which their brains are not developed enough for at eighteen. Given that the college application process requires both executive functioning skills and delayed gratification, men are more likely to opt for “perceived short-term gains in the labor force” than to participate in the drawn-out college admissions process.
ADVERSE EFFECTS OF THE GENDER EDUCATION GAP
With fewer men obtaining a college degree, several adverse social, economic, and political effects are projected to occur. Aside from the obvious fact that those with no college education have significantly less earning potential than those with a bachelor’s degree or higher, they are also more likely to live in poverty, be unemployed, and require government assistance. Furthermore, individuals without a college degree are also more likely to develop depression, live shorter lives, and get divorced more frequently. While these trends indicate a grim outlook for many American men opting out of higher education, the consequences of the rising gender gap are much more far-reaching than this.
One major cause for concern is the potential for gender identity to become synonymous with party divisions in America. Given that women and college graduates are more likely to be Democrats, whereas men or those with only a high school diploma are more likely to be Republicans, political parties are projected to become associated with gender in the coming years as women take up an increasingly large percentage of college graduates. This also opens up the opportunity for college to become feminized, further disincentivizing male participation in higher education.
Another adverse effect of rising gender disparity in U.S. colleges is the potential for marriage and fertility rates to drop. It’s no shock that college graduates tend to marry other college graduates, with universities often serving as a dating pool for young adults. However, college campuses that house significantly more women than men have been seen to be more likely to adopt a strong hookup culture, as men are surrounded by a plethora of women to choose from and thus are less incentivized to opt for a committed relationship. If the declining trend of male participation in college persists, marriage and childbirth rates are likely to be delayed or decline altogether.
Finally, the rise of women’s participation in higher education is likely to devalue degree-requiring jobs as companies drop their college graduation requirements. Several companies like IBM and Bank of America have already adopted a skills-based approach to hiring in replacement of one that prioritizes college graduates. Moreover, even government positions such as those for the state of Maryland, are beginning to remove degree requirements in their job postings. With a college degree being less desirable in the job market, America runs the risk of becoming even less competitive in its global education ranking, following recent trends.
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
Given all of this negative and seemingly unstoppable news, it’s understandably difficult to remain optimistic about the future state of our country. While this extensive issue requires broad, systemic change in order to be alleviated, there are a few key policy focus areas that should be prioritized for returning the American higher education system to a state of gender parity.
Rather than penalizing women in the college admissions process, activists, lobbying groups, and the government should instead focus their efforts on increasing employment opportunities for post-graduate individuals, bolstering male high school graduation rates, decreasing child poverty rates, lessening the economic burden of higher education, and curbing the number of men that are being incarcerated. Additionally, the implementation of higher education mentorship programs for men–most notably for lower-income or minority men–has been successful in providing “new opportunities for boys…who may feel stifled by the norm.” Though these objectives may seem daunting, their achievement will not only help resolve gender disparity within higher education, but will also fortify our economy while creating more equitable opportunities for all Americans. Considering GW’s strong culture of student activism–and the large proportion of women on campus (63%)–it’s essential for the college gender gap to be at the forefront of our minds as we all consider ways that we can get involved in our community and fight for a more inclusive future.
