Some data visualizations which might prove handy

So according to the above graph, sourced from the data which Eliza kindly tracked down, it looks like the trend started in the 70's and pretty much continued on a smooth path upward. That seems concurrent with the rise of serious feminism, the ERA, etc.

This data, however, sourced from Cornell's graduate schools, shows a lot of parallel lines. Male and female seem to be trending up and down at the same rates, and not converging. Note the drop in the early 90's -- economic slump? The first Gulf War?


















And this one, sourced from a document put out by the folks who do GRE testing, shows nearly the same trend lines, complete with a dip in the early 90's.

Increases early and in most (but not all) degree categories

Women earn more undergraduate and graduate degrees than men. In 2002-03 women earned 60 percent of all associate's degrees, 58 percent of all bachelor's degrees, and 59 percent of all master's degrees.

Today, women make up 48.3 percent of medical school matriculants. (up from 42.7 percent in 1996)

Today, women make up 46.7 percent of law students.
(Forty years ago, it was 6 percent. That number climbed to 34 percent in just 12 years.)

Women earn 45.1 percent of the doctoral degrees (across all fields).

"It's amazing what happens when you take the shackles off," said my mother, who earned an MBA (one of few women in the b-school at the time) and a PhD before having me.

But, in nearly every category of the sciences (engineering, physics, etc.), women lag behind men in getting PhDs.

Also, business schools continue to hover around 35 percent female enrollment. A 2004 Business Week article cites the lack of women in top board positions in business and the timing of the program (most b-school matriculants have a few years of work experience, unlike med school or law school, at which point more women are planning to start families). The article also mentioned salary considerations, gender stereo-typing of management and curriculums full of golf outings.