How Parenthood Affects the Black-White College Graduation Rate Gap

A recent study published in the journal Research in Higher Education finds that 32 percent of black women reported having had a child within five years of entering a four-year college. For white women, the rate was only 7 percent. Some 23 percent of black men entering a four-year college reported having had a child within five years of entering higher education. For white men, the rate was 4 percent.

The study found that women of both races who had a baby within five years of entering college were far less likely to graduate than women who had no children or waited at least five years after entering college to give birth. The authors conclude that “due to the diversion of time and money away from pursuit of a degree, having a child is a direct cause of leaving college.” Since black women are more than four times as likely to give birth soon after they enter college, becoming a parent likely is a significant contributing factor to the overall racial gap in college graduation rates.

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