{"id":192631,"date":"2024-11-18T11:57:38","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T16:57:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?post_type=short-read&#038;p=192631"},"modified":"2024-11-18T11:57:39","modified_gmt":"2024-11-18T16:57:39","slug":"us-women-are-outpacing-men-in-college-completion-including-in-every-major-racial-and-ethnic-group","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2024\/11\/18\/us-women-are-outpacing-men-in-college-completion-including-in-every-major-racial-and-ethnic-group\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. women are outpacing men in college completion, including in every major racial and ethnic group"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-640-wide\"><img data-dominant-color=\"2d2f31\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #2d2f31;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/11\/SR_24.11.18_college-gender-gap_feature.jpg?resize=480,270 480w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/11\/SR_24.11.18_college-gender-gap_feature.jpg?resize=782,440 782w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/11\/SR_24.11.18_college-gender-gap_feature.jpg?resize=960,540 960w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/11\/SR_24.11.18_college-gender-gap_feature.jpg?resize=1200,675 1200w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/11\/SR_24.11.18_college-gender-gap_feature.jpg?resize=1280,720 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/11\/SR_24.11.18_college-gender-gap_feature.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"Students look for family and friends during UCLA's commencement ceremony on June 16, 2023. (Sarah Reingewirtz\/MediaNews Group\/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)\" class=\"wp-image-192637 not-transparent\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students look for family and friends during UCLA&#8217;s commencement ceremony on June 16, 2023. (Sarah Reingewirtz\/MediaNews Group\/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Women between the ages of 25 and 34 continue to be more likely than men in the same age group to have a bachelor\u2019s degree. The gender gap in bachelor\u2019s degree completion appears in every major racial or ethnic group, though the size of the gap varies widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-640-wide is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=192635\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f6f6f5\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/11\/SR_24.11.18_college-gender-gap_1.png?resize=480,519 480w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/11\/SR_24.11.18_college-gender-gap_1.png?resize=782,845 782w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/11\/SR_24.11.18_college-gender-gap_1.png?resize=840,908 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"692\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/11\/SR_24.11.18_college-gender-gap_1.png?w=640\" alt=\"A line chart showing that U.S. women have outpaced men in bachelor\u2019s degree completion for decades.\" class=\"wp-image-192635 not-transparent\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f6f6f5; width:420px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1995, young men and women were equally likely to hold a bachelor\u2019s degree (25% each). Since then, there has been a growing gap between men and women in college completion. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, 47% of U.S. women ages 25 to 34 have a bachelor\u2019s degree, compared with 37% of men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The share of young women with a bachelor\u2019s degree has increased by 22 percentage points since 1995, from 25% to 47%. Over the same period, men have seen a smaller increase (12 points, from 25% to 37%).<\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"border-width:1px;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);--block-gap: inherit\" class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible has-background has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-border-color has-ui-beige-dark-border-color\" id=\"how-we-did-this\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/collapsible&quot;}\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;collapsibleId&quot;:&quot;how-we-did-this&quot;,&quot;isOpen&quot;:false}\" data-wp-class--is-open=\"context.isOpen\" data-wp-init--scroll-into-view=\"callbacks.onInitScrollIntoView\"><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__title\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.onClick\"><div>How we did this<\/div><button class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__icon\"><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"context.isOpen\"><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-plus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-plus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!context.isOpen\" hidden><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-minus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-minus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><\/button><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__content\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to better understand the demographic characteristics driving the gender gap in bachelor\u2019s degree completion in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This analysis uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/cps.ipums.org\/cps\/\">Current Population Survey<\/a> (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement for 1995 to 2024. The CPS microdata files analyzed were provided by the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/cps.ipums.org\/cps\/index.shtml\">Integrated Public Use Microdata Series<\/a> (IPUMS) at the University of Minnesota. The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/programs-surveys\/saipe\/guidance\/model-input-data\/cpsasec.html\">Annual Social and Economic Supplement<\/a>&nbsp;(ASEC) of the CPS is conducted in March of each year and typically features an expanded sample of more than 75,000 households with about 70,000 interviews.<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2021\/11\/08\/whats-behind-the-growing-gap-between-men-and-women-in-college-completion\/\">2021 Pew Research Center survey<\/a> asked Americans without a bachelor\u2019s degree why they chose not to seek one \u2013 and found some gender differences in the responses. For example, men without a bachelor\u2019s degree were more likely than women to say they <em>just didn\u2019t want to get one<\/em>. In turn, women without a bachelor\u2019s degree were more likely than men to say they <em>couldn\u2019t afford a four-year degree<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"gender-gaps-in-college-completion-by-race-and-ethnicity\">Gender gaps in college completion by race and ethnicity<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">White, Black, Hispanic and Asian women between the ages of 25 and 34 are all more likely than their male counterparts to have a bachelor\u2019s degree. But some groups have made more gains over time than others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-640-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=192636\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f8f8f6\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f8f8f6;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/11\/SR_24.11.18_college-gender-gap_2.png?resize=480,549 480w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/11\/SR_24.11.18_college-gender-gap_2.png?resize=782,894 782w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/11\/SR_24.11.18_college-gender-gap_2.png?resize=960,1098 960w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/11\/SR_24.11.18_college-gender-gap_2.png?resize=1200,1373 1200w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/11\/SR_24.11.18_college-gender-gap_2.png?resize=1280,1464 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"732\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/11\/SR_24.11.18_college-gender-gap_2.png?w=640\" alt=\"Line charts showing that the gender gap in college completion varies by race and ethnicity in the U.S.\" class=\"wp-image-192636 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">White, Black and Hispanic women have outpaced men in college completion in recent decades. For example, in 1995, young White women and men were equally likely to have a bachelor\u2019s degree (29% each). The gap has increased to 10 points today (52% of White women vs. 42% of White men).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Similarly, in 1995, young Black women and men were about equally likely to have a bachelor\u2019s degree (14% vs. 16%). Today, Black women are 12 points more likely than Black men to have one (38% of Black women vs. 26% of Black men).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is also a growing gender gap between Hispanic men and women in college completion. In 1995, similar shares of Hispanic women and men had a bachelor\u2019s degree (10% vs. 9%), but today the gap between groups is 9 points (31% vs. 22%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The pattern is different for Asian adults, with women and men making comparable gains over the last few decades. In 1995, 42% of young Asian women and men had a bachelor\u2019s degree. Today, 77% of young Asian women have one, as do 71% of young Asian men.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today, 47% of U.S. women ages 25 to 34 have a bachelor\u2019s degree, compared with 37% of men.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":658,"featured_media":192637,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2024-11-18T16:57:51Z","apple_news_api_id":"c0e80d40-3700-4b7f-b34b-45a739b331a2","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2024-11-18T16:57:51Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AwOgNQDcAS3-zS0WnObMxog","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"relatedPosts":[],"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0},"categories":[213,374],"bylines":[638],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[467],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[515],"research-teams":[519],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-192631","short-read","type-short-read","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education-gender","category-higher-education","bylines-kiley-hurst","formats-short-read","regions-countries-united-states","research-teams-social-trends"],"label":"Short Read","post_parent":0,"word_count":537,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2024\/11\/18\/us-women-are-outpacing-men-in-college-completion-including-in-every-major-racial-and-ethnic-group\/","art_direction":{"A2":{"id":192637,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/11\/SR_24.11.18_college-gender-gap_feature.jpg","url":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/11\/SR_24.11.18_college-gender-gap_feature.jpg?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"caption":"Students look for family and friends during UCLA's commencement ceremony on June 16, 2023. 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