Postsecondary Education

Females currently have greater success than males in attaining postsecondary education. Females have higher aspirations than males while in high school, they are more likely to enroll in college immediately after graduating from high school, and they persist and complete degrees at higher rates than males. More than half of all bachelor's and master's degrees are awarded to females. Nevertheless, gender differences in majors still exist, with female bachelor's degree recipients much less likely than their male peers to major in computer science, engineering, and physical sciences. Females also still lag behind males in enrollment in first-professional and doctoral programs, but they have made gains in the past 30 years and are closing the gender gap.