The Wiley Handbook of Gender Equity in Higher Education

1Unpacking the “Female Advantage” in the Career and Economic Impacts of College

Tiffani M. Williams and Gregory C. Wolniak

Females surpass males on virtually every educational indicator, with recent statistics showing that nearly two out of every three bachelor's degrees awarded in the United States are granted to women (U.S. Department of Education 2016). Studies across Europe (e.g. Smyth 2005) also show that female educational attainment exceeds that of men. This phenomenon has been defined, and critiqued, as the “female advantage” in higher education (Buchmann and DiPrete 2006; Niemi 2017). In fact, women's overall success in acquiring human capital may be one of the central social changes in recent history.

In 1970, women accounted for only 41% of total fall enrollments (National Center for Education Statistics 2015b). By the fall of 2015, they made up 56% of total undergraduate enrollment (Mcfarland et al. 2017). At the graduate level, since 2014, higher percentages of women than of men have earned master's degrees, while at more advanced levels they have narrowed the gap (Posselt and Grodsky 2017). Women now outpace men in enrollment as well as attainment (Kezar 2004; Goldin et al. 2006; DiPrete and Buchmann 2013; Mcfarland et al. 2017). It has further been noted that college‐educated women experience advantages relative to other women in several other areas, including “wage labor opportunities, rates of marriage, standard of living, and protection against divorce and ...