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Data Connection
The American Woman 2003-2004: Daughters of
a Revolution, Young Women Today, prepared by the Women's Research
and Education Institute (WREI), published by Palgrave.
Aye, Aye Sir, No More!
Women first graduated from the service academies in 1980, and the percentage
of women among graduates in all the academies has continued to increase
since then. In 1980 10.9% of graduates from the Air Force academy were
women; in 2001 17.8% of graduates were women. In 1980 9.2% of Coast
Guard academy graduates were female; in 2001 the percentage rose to
25.4%. In 1980 6.8% of the graduates from West Point were women, in
2001 it was 15.9%. In 1980 5.8% of graduates from the Naval Academy
were women; in 2001 it was 16.6%.
Preferred Majors
Business and management were the most popular undergraduate majors for
women across race. White and Native American women ranked education
second, black and Hispanic women ranked the social sciences and history
second, Asian/Pacific Islander women ranked biological and life sciences
second
Scientific Progress
Women's percentage of bachelor's degrees in engineering and the sciences
has increased across the board over the last twenty-five years. In 1977-78
women earned 38.4% of biological/life sciences degrees, 25.7% of computer
and information sciences degrees, 6.7% of engineering degrees, and 21.3%
of physical science degrees. By contrast, in 1997-98 women earned 55.1%
of degrees in biological/life sciences, 26.7% of degrees in computer
and information sciences, 16.9% of degrees in engineering, and 38.4%
of degrees in the physical sciences.
Women in Management
In 1990 the typical employed woman was more likely to be in an administrative
support job than in a managerial or professional position. In 2000 the
reverse was true. Asian/Pacific Islander women are the most likely to
be managers or professionals (38.7%) and Hispanic women the least likely
(17.8%).
Women in Labor
Whatever her child's age, in 2000, the typical American mother was
considerably more likely to be in the labor force than were her counterparts
in 1990 and 1980. However, the proportion of employed mothers who worked
full-time did not change much in twenty years.
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Women in Education
Of all women in the United States, Asian/Pacific Islander women
are the most likely to have a bachelor's degree and the most likely
to have a graduate degree.
In the over-twenty-five population as a whole, the percentage
of women with college degrees is smaller than the percentage of
men, but the gap has been closing. It has closed altogether in
the twenty-five to thirty-four age group.
The percentage of black women college graduates doubled between 1980 and 2000. Hispanic women are least likely
to have a four-year degree.
Undergraduate student bodies became more diverse during the 1990s,
but the makeup varied across sex. A larger proportion of the women
than of the men were black; a larger proportion of the men than
of the women were Asian/Pacific Islander.
Women earn the majority of undergraduate and master's degrees. Men are still more likely to earn professional and doctoral degrees, although the gap has been shrinking.
Over the last two decades of the twentieth century, women's share
of professional degrees in all fields increased significantly,
but no where more dramatically than in pharmacy and veterinary
medicine, where women now earn two-thirds of the degrees.
This data is from The American Woman 2003-2004: Daughters
of a Revolution, Young Women Today, edited by Cynthia B.
Costello, Vanessa R. Wight, and Anne J. Stone, prepared by the Women's Research
and Education Institute (WREI), and published by Palgrave. To order
call 202-628-0444 or visit www.wrei.org.
The publication costs $24.95, which includes postage and handling. There is an additional charge for
postage to addresses outside the U.S. Contact WREI for more information.
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