Below is an excerpt from the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education regarding the gender gap in bachelor’s degrees awarded to African Americans. I know statistics like these are often used to encourage young brothers to go to college but the implications are far more dire, especially in this economy.
To be sure, Black women doing well or better than men is not bad and women should not be berated for doing well. However, we as men have to step up and take our nephews and cousins under our wings.
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.
