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Title: The Black Gender Gap in Educational Attainment: Historical Trends and Racial Comparisons

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2010

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Abstract: It is often asserted that the gender gap in educational attainment is larger for blacks than whites,but the historical trends that lead up to the current situation have received surprisingly littleattention. Analysis of historical data from the U.S. Census IPUMS Samples shows that thegender gap in college completion has evolved differently for whites and blacks. Historically, thefemale advantage in educational attainment among blacks is linked to more favorable labormarket opportunities and stronger incentives for employment for educated black women.Blacks, particularly black males, still lag far behind whites in their rates of college completion,but the striking educational gains of white women have caused the racial patterns of genderdifferences in college completion rates to grow more similar over time. While some have linkedthe disadvantaged position of black males to their high risk of incarceration, our estimatessuggest that incarceration has a relatively small impact on the black gender gap and the racialgap in college completion rates for males in the U.S.

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Authors: DiPrete, Thomas A.; McDaniel, Anne; Shwed, Uri; Buchmann, Claudia

Publisher: Ohio State University

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Education, Race and Ethnicity

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