2.8 million more women than men graduated college from 2016-2020
2.8 million more women than men graduated college from 2016-2020
50-years after Title IX, the landscape has changed
The educational landscape in higher education dramatically changed after Title IX was signed into law on June 23, 1972. And it was not merely the law that transformed the educational outcomes 50 years later.
Women and girls’ success has been greatly augmented by private and public investment in their outcomes, from women only scholarships to federal, state, educational, and business entities working on their behalf alongside policy makers.
Women’s groups, for the most part, blamed institutions for sexism and have spent decades rightly discouraging that behavior. Together, men and women worked to identify institutions as the problem and not women. There is certainly merit in the argument. But can the same be said today? Even though that rationale still takes hold in today’s narrative, it’s fairly difficult to suggest sexism is at work in higher education against females when male outcomes are showing an ever-widening gender gap.
Males are significantly behind in higher-education outcomes than women were 50 years ago. The deficit for males today is significantly greater and has been for some time. From 1983-1987, there were 137,000 more female graduates than male graduates. From 2016-2020, that number increased to 2.8 million more female graduates.
The data below presents the percent change over time in undergraduate enrollment, but it’s incredibly important to see the actual outcomes in terms of numbers as well. In 2019-2020, there were 760,000 more female graduates compared to 1969-70, when there were 235,000 more male graduates (see full table in appendix).
Although the percentages since Title IX have flipped to female dominant, the numbers show something much more troubling at a time when there is little in the way of addressing the millions of men in need of training for the types of employment that leads to real wages and in professions that are in high demand.
In an unofficial Twitter Poll, 41% of respondents thought there was no difference in who is more likely to graduate from college. 55% of those who responded to the survey were male, 43% female, and 2% other or not specified. There was no breakdown of how each sex voted.
Any suggestion about sexism against boys and men in higher-education is a much harder one to make in great part because contemporary narratives tend to present male outcomes in terms of male deficiencies or character flaws and not institutional ones, something briefly discussed by Ezra Klein of the New York Times in his March 10 engaging interview with Richard Reeves (Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute and author Of Boys and Men). It’s a lengthy episode and one I strongly encourage our readers to listen to as it touches on a number of engaging topics that need to be unpacked a great deal more.
There is no denying that the rapid transformation of college enrollment and outcomes is unprecedented, and it makes sense for some to argue it is a new form of sexism, as the women’s rights movement did decades ago. But the problem is much more complicated. Special interest groups, policy makers, educators, and others have made their careers on the topic, and I can’t help but think some are so entrenched in their own efforts that they forget to come up for air and look, not simply at the other side, but at the humanity of it all. These are not meant to be zero-sum games.
Part of the problem is many legislators, journalists, researchers, and others are unaware of the problem or selectively shy away from the topic for fear of reprisal. Some simply don’t care, but I don’t believe that represents the majority.
There are bold policymakers, like representative Mary Dye of Washington State, who are looking at the facts on the ground and gaining bi-partisan support from strong representatives deeply concerned about the outcomes of boys and men without compromising outcomes for girls and women.
The recent discussion with Ezra Klein and Richard Reeves in the New York Times is a nudge toward a more open debate, and one that needs far more airtime. If you’re listening Ezra, I have some ideas.
In the interim, there is no denying the Male Gender-Gap in education is only widening. This is no-longer a ripple across the American educational landscape; it’s a wave of troubling times for our nation’s sons crashing the shores of every aspect of American life.
Appendix of Data
You really nailed the point about the education gender gap, how boys and men are falling behind, backed up by very accurate data. It should be clear that the count of students graduating is pretty much 100% accurate, so there is very little room for debate here. The data tells the story, and that story should be setting off alarm bells...we can only hope people are listening. Great article and data vizzes, as well.