The number of post-secondary educational
degrees awarded to women rose from just over half a million
in the 1969–70 academic year to more than 1.6 million in
2003–04. Although the number of degrees earned by men has
also increased, the rate of growth among women has been
much faster; therefore, the proportion of degrees earned
by women has risen dramatically. In 1969–70, men earned
a majority of every type of post-secondary degree, while
in 2003–04, women earned more than half of all associate’s,
bachelor’s, and master’s degrees and earned almost half
of all first professional and doctoral degrees. The most
significant increase has been in the proportion of first
professional degree earners who are women, which jumped
from 5.3 percent in 1969–70 to 49.2 percent in 2003–04.
In 2003–04, the total number of women earning their first
professional degree (40,872) was 22 times greater than in
1969–70 (1,841).
Although sex disparities in education
have almost disappeared, there is still a disparity among
instructional staff in degree-granting institutions. In
fall 2003, only 39.4 percent of instructional staff were
women.
Among female instructors, a significant
racial and ethnic disparity exists as well: 80.1 percent
of all female instructional staff were non-Hispanic White.
This disparity is even more pronounced among higher-level
staff, such as professors, where non-Hispanic White women
composed 87.3 percent of full-time female staff, compared
to 4.9 percent for non-Hispanic Black women and 2.4 percent
for Hispanic women.
> Vertical
Bar Chart: Degrees Awarded to Women, by Type, 1969-70
and 2003-04
> Vertical
Bar Chart: Full-Time Female Instructional Staff
in Degree-Granting Institutions, by academic Rank and Race/Ethnicity,
Fall 2003 |