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Title: Race and the Growing Female Advantage in Educational Attainment: A Trend Comparison

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2009

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Abstract: It is well known that the gender gap in educational attainment is larger for blacksthan whites, but the historical trends that lead up to the current situation have receivedsurprisingly little attention. Using historical data from the U.S. Census Integrated PublicUse Microdata Samples and the Current Population Surveys, we find that the gender gapin college completion has evolved differently for whites and blacks. The relative (to men)educational position of black women has long been more favorable than that of whitewomen, but the female-favorable educational trends of the past 60 years are far strongerfor whites than for blacks. Continuing black female gains are largely due to theirrelatively higher rates of transition to postsecondary education. White female gains havecome from female favorable trends in four-year college completion given secondaryeducation, as well as in the transition to postsecondary education. Both black and whitemales were much more likely than females to delay completion of college in earlieryears, but this gender difference has diminished. The general trend is for racialconvergence in the age pattern of college completion, and for the black gender gap toresemble the white gender gap, even as overall rates of college completion by blacksremain far below those of whites of both genders.

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

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Data Collections: IPUMS CPS

Topics: Education

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