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Statistic

47% vs 37%

Among young US adults, 47% of women vs 37% of men hold a degree

Among Americans aged 25–34, 47% of women hold a bachelor's degree versus 37% of men — a real, large education gap favouring women. But "the system is rigged against boys" is an unmeasured motive the attainment gap alone doesn't establish.

The number

Among 25-to-34-year-olds, 47% of women hold a bachelor's degree versus 37% of men — a ten-point gap, with women now the majority of degree-earners at every level. [1]

Today, 47% of U.S. women ages 25 to 34 have a bachelor's degree, compared with 37% of men.

Pew Research Center (2024)
[1]

What it does and doesn't establish

Boys and young men really are behind in education — that much is solid. What the number does not establish is that schools are deliberately "rigged" against boys; the causes are contested and multiple. Full context: do boys fall behind in school?

Sources

1 source · all archived at publication

  1. [1]U.S. women are outpacing men in college completion · Pew Research Center · 2024-11-18 archived ↗

By The Fieldnote Desk · How we verify · Corrections