Gender Gap in college
US News is reporting that the male/female ratio in college is 43/57, the opposite of what it was in the 1960's. But tech/science schools are still male-dominated. Perhaps the affect of the military is more palpable now that most middle-class kids go to college? Any theories?
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Well, if you take a look a the chart at the bottom of the article, this is an issue affecting the poor and the lower middle class. Families earning over $70,000 (I'm assuming that's family income, but the chart doesn't specify) have essentially a 50/50 ratio and that's changed only slightly in favor of more women in the last ten years. (Admittedly, these are 1995 dollars, so who knows how much that number should be inflated for today's economy.)
The article doesn't address in more than a passing manner whether this change in ratio is because more women are going to college, or less men. If more women are going to college, while men are choosing to stay in blue-collar jobs without a college degree... so be it. If women are staying relatively stable, and men are simply dropping out in higher numbers than previously, that seems more ominous for society.
Anyone want to reasearch some numbers on that?
The question is either (1) why are poor women enrolling in larger numbers, or (2) why are poor men choosing not to go college in larger numbers.