Globally, women now outnumber men in higher education. From 2000 to 2019, the female-to-male enrollment ratio steadily increased, reaching ****, and has remained stable at that level since.

In an impressive increase from years past, 39 percent of women in the United States had completed four years or more of college in 2022. This figure is up from 3.8 percent of women in 1940. A significant increase can also be seen in males, with 36.2 percent of the U.S. male population having completed four years or more of college in 2022, up from 5.5 percent in 1940.

4- and 2-year colleges

In the United States, college students are able to choose between attending a 2-year postsecondary program and a 4-year postsecondary program. Generally, attending a 2-year program results in an Associate’s Degree, and 4-year programs result in a Bachelor’s Degree.

Many 2-year programs are designed so that attendees can transfer to a college or university offering a 4-year program upon completing their Associate’s. Completion of a 4-year program is the generally accepted standard for entry-level positions when looking for a job.

Earnings after college

Factors such as gender, degree achieved, and the level of postsecondary education can have an impact on employment and earnings later in life. Some Bachelor’s degrees continue to attract more male students than female, particularly in STEM fields, while liberal arts degrees such as education, languages and literatures, and communication tend to see higher female attendance.

All of these factors have an impact on earnings after college, and despite nearly the same rate of attendance within the American population between males and females, men with a Bachelor’s Degree continue to have higher weekly earnings on average than their female counterparts.

Progression to HE by Gender

Across all OECD countries included (except for Japan), there was a higher share of women than men among the new first-time higher education students in 2022. This reflects a general trend across developed countries that women tend to reach higher levels of education than that of men.

HE participation (CHEP-25, CHEP-20, CHEP-30) by gender

United Kingdom UK: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Tertiary School Enrollment: Gross data was reported at 1.337 Ratio in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.323 Ratio for 2014. United Kingdom UK: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Tertiary School Enrollment: Gross data is updated yearly, averaging 1.012 Ratio from Dec 1971 (Median) to 2015, with 45 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.406 Ratio in 2006 and a record low of 0.509 Ratio in 1971. United Kingdom UK: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Tertiary School Enrollment: Gross data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Education Statistics. Gender parity index for gross enrollment ratio in tertiary education is the ratio of women to men enrolled at tertiary level in public and private schools.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

HE participation (CHEP-25, CHEP-20, CHEP-30) by gender

This section presents statistical information on the educational variables collected in the Labor Force Survey of the National Institute of Statistics, as well as in the Community Labor Force Survey of Eurostat. The indicators of the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (2021-2030) derived from these sources are highlighted. The information is presented disaggregated by autonomous community and by European Union country, according to the source used, and with temporal evolutions since 2002. The results are obtained as annual averages of quarterly data, so the information is updated annually, as the four quarters of the LFS are available, as well as the results derived from the Eurostat community survey. From the 2014 results of the LFS, the new National Classification of Education, CNED-2014, based on the International Standard Classification of Education, ISCED-2011, applied in the LFS, is applied; and from 2016, the update of the sectors/fields of study of both classifications (CNED-F and ISCED-F) is applied. These changes in the classifications involve a break in series for some of the tables, as indicated in the accompanying notes. Publication date: February 7, 2025 (Click on the links to access the EDUCAbase Information System).

Around 5.39 million higher education students in Mexico were enrolled for the 2023/2024 academic year. The number of female students exceeded that of male by 420,000 students.

In Sweden, the number of female registered students in higher education was far higher than the registered male students. In 2022, there were registered over 225,000 female students, compared to less than 150,000 male students. The number of both genders remained relatively stable throughout the last decade, but increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, a total of 386,012 students were registered at higher education institutions in Sweden. Women in higher education The enrollment of women in higher education in Sweden follows a global trend. In each OECD country, women complete Bachelor’s degrees at higher rates than men. Moreover, there are female-dominated fields of study in higher education. Generally, social sciences and care study programs have a higher proportion of women than men. This can be seen in countries such as Australia, where nearly 75 percent of all new health students are women, compared to 25 percent within the fields of science, technology engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Female representation and equality in Sweden While women in Sweden have a small gender pay gap compared to men, with the average woman earning roughly 27,100 Swedish kronor and the average man earning nearly 30,800 Swedish kronor monthly, Sweden ranks well in terms of gender equality. Furthermore, almost half of Swedish parliament is composed of women, one of the highest shares of female MPs globally. Nevertheless, Swedish women still cite issues such as domestic violence as significant concerns.

This dataset provides information on the number of students enrolled in public colleges and universities in Qatar, categorized by college and gender. It includes various colleges such as Education, Arts and Sciences, Sharia and Islamic Studies, Engineering, Business and Economics, and Law. This dataset helps in analyzing the distribution of male and female students across different academic disciplines in public higher education institutions in Qatar.

IntroductionGender stereotypes considerably influence human behavior, creating gaps between men and women in higher education. Society faces the challenge of preventing the loss of human talent in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines and Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH). However, it remains unclear which factors influence the gender gap that may hinder attracting and retaining female talent in these fields. This study aimed to develop and validate an instrument, the ‘Assessing Gender Gap Factors in Higher Education’ (FACT-GÉN), to identify and measure the factors influencing the gender gap.MethodThis study employed an instrumental design to develop and validate the ‘Assessing Gender Gap Factors in Higher Education’ (FACT-GÉN) instrument. Using a cross-sectional quantitative approach, data were collected from 851 students across STEM and Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines to ensure the instrument’s reliability and validity. Internal Consistency Analysis was conducted to assess the reliability of the identified factors, followed by Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to identify underlying structures, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to validate the instrument’s structure.ResultsThe model demonstrated a good fit to the data, with indices such as CFI (0.911), TLI (0.894), and RMSEA (0.049), supporting its validity. The scaled chi-square difference test confirmed the adjusted model’s superiority over the null model [χ2_diff(4) = 30.805, p

This dataset originates from a research study analyzing university students' perceptions of gender in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields across Brazil and Spain. It explores the intersection of gender, race, and academic fields to uncover the cultural, social, and systemic influences on opinions about gender disparities in STEM education and careers.

The dataset includes responses from 1,298 participants in Brazil and comparative data from Spain, collected using a validated questionnaire (QSTEMHE, Questionnaire with university students on STEM studies in Higher Education). The questionnaire assesses gender stereotypes, self-perceptions, interest, attitudes, and expectations regarding STEM fields. The Brazilian data was adapted for linguistic and cultural relevance and incorporates additional variables like race, which was not included in the Spanish analysis.

Empirical Dimensions:

Gender Stereotypes (GS)

Perceptions and Self-Perceptions (PSP)

Interest in STEM (INT)

Attitudes (AC)

Expectations about Sciences (EXP)

Methodology: The data was collected through an online questionnaire distributed across higher education institutions in Brazil, ensuring representation of diverse academic levels, socioeconomic statuses, and racial backgrounds. The analysis includes descriptive and inferential statistics, such as Mann-Whitney U tests, to explore differences by gender, field of study, and race.

Graph and download economic data for Civilian Labor Force: College Graduates: Advanced Degree: Master's Degree and Higher, 16 to 19 years, Women (CGADLW1619) from Mar 2015 to Aug 2025 about master's degree, 16 to 19 years, females, tertiary schooling, civilian, education, labor force, labor, household survey, and USA.

This dataset provides the number of students enrolled in private colleges and universities in Qatar, categorized by educational institution, nationality, and gender. The data includes institutions such as Education City Universities, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, and Lusail University. It allows for the analysis of student enrollment trends across different institutions, nationalities (Qatari and Non-Qatari), and genders. This dataset is useful for understanding the distribution of students in Qatar's higher education institutions, as well as the participation of male and female students within these institutions.

Number of Higher education students in the United Kingdom at further education colleges or higher education providers by gender, level and mode of study, subject and domicile.

The proportion of male and female postsecondary graduates, by Classification of Instructional Programs, Primary groupings (CIP_PG), International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) and age group.

Japan JP: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Tertiary School Enrollment: Gross data was reported at 0.941 Ratio in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.931 Ratio for 2014. Japan JP: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Tertiary School Enrollment: Gross data is updated yearly, averaging 0.682 Ratio from Dec 1971 (Median) to 2015, with 42 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.941 Ratio in 2015 and a record low of 0.408 Ratio in 1971. Japan JP: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Tertiary School Enrollment: Gross data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.World Bank: Education Statistics. Gender parity index for gross enrollment ratio in tertiary education is the ratio of women to men enrolled at tertiary level in public and private schools.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

Egypt EG: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Tertiary School Enrollment: Gross data was reported at 1.024 Ratio in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.962 Ratio for 2015. Egypt EG: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Tertiary School Enrollment: Gross data is updated yearly, averaging 0.517 Ratio from Dec 1971 (Median) to 2016, with 37 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.024 Ratio in 2016 and a record low of 0.392 Ratio in 1971. Egypt EG: Gender Parity Index (GPI): Tertiary School Enrollment: Gross data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Egypt – Table EG.World Bank: Education Statistics. Gender parity index for gross enrollment ratio in tertiary education is the ratio of women to men enrolled at tertiary level in public and private schools.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

• - Explore Education Statistics data set Free School Meals, Gender and Ethnic Group - Region from Widening participation in higher education