Studies over the last 30 years have shown a steady divergence of male and female college enrollment and graduation rates, with some estimating that by the year 2020, females may account for two-thirds of the college population.
Of last year’s graduating seniors, 58 percent were female, a number that is nearly equal to the national average.
As researchers continue to analyze the causes behind this widening gender gap, the number of women enrolling in college continues to rise. Last fall, 14,349 female undergraduates were enrolled at UCLA, compared to just 11,579 males, according to the Office of Analysis and Information Management.
So, what factors account for this trend? Linda Sax, an associate professor in UCLA’s Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and an author of more than 40 publications regarding the college gender gap, said socioeconomic factors play a major role in why more and more women are attending college.
“Women with low socioeconomic status are a large part of increased enrollment, so the women attending many schools today are much different than the ones in the past,” Sax said.
She also said women tend to get better grades in both high school and college, a notion corroborated by others in the field.
Annie Fox, a former educator who participated in a 2006 ABC News study on the growing college gender gap, said she believes the answers can be found in early childhood education, and agrees with research that shows a stronger correlation between female attitudes and higher achievement. During her interview with ABC News, Fox explained that boys are at a disadvantage when it comes to the acquisition of skills needed to excel in an educational environment.
“In what I consider a female-designed environment … small motor coordination comes much later in boys, as does language acquisition,” Fox said.
Young male students’ inability to focus in this environment has even prompted gender-segregated classrooms, such as those implemented by schools this year in Greene County, Georgia.
At UCLA, some male students are privy to the trend, and are ready to offer their own assessments on what may be the cause.
Abhishek Seth, a fourth-year history student, said he believes female students are more prepared to handle the rigors of college life upon enrollment.
“I think girls are more disciplined once they get to college,” Seth said. “I’ve noticed that they are much better at consistently attending lecture.”
Ian Figarsky, a third-year neuroscience student, offered a different view.
“I feel like more women feel they want to keep going to school, while men want to start making money,” Figarsky said.
Figarsky’s assessment may not be that far off.
When the Education Amendments of 1972 made education more accessible to women, wider demographics of women received access to higher education.
With increased availability, Sax said, underprivileged women have been major beneficiaries, but the motivation for men with low incomes to pursue a college degree is much different.
“Low-income men don’t see college as a wise investment because they can just get jobs,” Sax said.
While men have traditionally had greater access to jobs regardless of education status, women do not enjoy that same luxury, making college seem to be a necessity for disadvantaged women.
Statistics from the Office of Analysis and Information Management reveal that in the last five years alone, the percentage of female graduates at UCLA has increased by at least one percent each year, with the exception of 2006.
The National Center for Education Statistics projects the number of bachelor’s degrees earned by women will increase 28 percent between the 2004-05 school year and the 2016-17 school year. The projection for men is not nearly as high, and stands at just 15 percent.
Sax said she believes there ultimately needs to be more in-depth analyses of the college gender gap.
“I really want to emphasize the point that this issue is really complex and not well understood,” she said. “We really need better research.”