The discussion centers on the significant gender disparity in college enrollment in the U.S., where women now represent nearly 60% of students compared to about 40% for men. Participants explore the historical context, current trends, and potential reasons behind this shift, touching on educational policies, societal expectations, and the implications for future generations.
Participants express a range of views on the causes and implications of the gender gap in college enrollment. While there is some agreement on the existence of the gap, the reasons behind it and the appropriate responses remain contested.
Participants reference various data points and articles to support their claims, indicating that the discussion involves complex factors such as high school graduation rates and societal expectations regarding gender roles in education and employment.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opin...5/college-fewer-men-hurts-america/8278887002/This fall, women outnumber men on two-year and four-year college campuses by millions. Nearly 60% of students are women while only about 40% are men, an education gap that has been widening for decades.
The problem has become even more acute as total enrollment has fallen by more than a million students over the past five years. The Wall Street Journal reports that "men accounted for 71% of the decline."
A half-century ago, the numbers were almost exactly the opposite, with men making up 60% of incoming freshmen. Back then, America knew why women were outnumbered: Sexist policies and social mores kept women on the sidelines.
Now, there's little research to explain why fewer men are enrolling in higher education. A spokesman for the Department of Education said the agency doesn't have an effort underway to explain what is going on.
In 2015, the most recent year for which data is available, 72.5 percent of females who had recently graduated high school were enrolled in a two-year or four-year college, compared to 65.8 percent of men. That’s a big difference from 1967, when 57 percent of recent male high-school grads were in college, compared to 47.2 percent of women.
I don't think anyone is saying that. What's being reported is that 60% of college students are women.Office_Shredder said:I feel like a common story here is that men are just deciding not to go to college as much as they used to. I think the data says that story is false.
That's largely irrelevant. The world has moved on in 50 years and we expect more people to go to college now. In the UK, the numbers attending university are much higher than they were 50 years ago.Office_Shredder said:Men are choosing to go to college more frequently than they used to, when they have the opportunity to make that decision.
PeroK said:I don't think anyone is saying that. What's being reported is that 60% of college students are women.That's largely irrelevant. The world has moved on in 50 years and we expect more people to go to college now. In the UK, the numbers attending university are much higher than they were 50 years ago.
The growing discrepancy between men and women in education is real - and, IMO, needs to be taken seriously.
That's what the BBC article highlighted. Apparently, there's already a discrepancy when children start school at age 4-5!Office_Shredder said:Sure, but
72.5/(72.5+65.8) is about 52%. So if the first article I linked is right, 80% of the gender gap is driven by graduating high school, not by any decision making about going to college. The end goal might be getting people to go to college, but the focus needs to be shifted a lot earlier in people's education I think.