The Gender Gap in African-American Professional Degree Attainments

In 1989 African-American women earned more professional degree awards than black men for the first time in history. Black women have held the lead ever since.

The gender gap in black professional degree awards is large but not as wide as in bachelor’s and master’s degree attainments. In 2006 black women earned 63 percent of all professional degrees awarded to African Americans, down from 64 percent the previous year.

Copyright © 2008. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.