The Gender Gap in Bachelor’s Degree Awards Among African Americans

In the 2006-07 academic year, black women earned 96,968 bachelor’s degrees, almost double the number earned by black men. Black women now earn two thirds of all bachelor’s degrees obtained by African Americans.

Do not be mistaken, black men too have made progress. Over the past decade, the number of bachelor’s degrees earned by black men is up more than 47 percent. But the result for black men pales in comparison to the huge gains posted by black women. Over the same 10-year period, the number of bachelor’s degrees won by black women has increased by nearly 60 percent.

Copyright © 2009. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.