Dear Bruce:
You better look closer into this male gap or “endangered male species” argument. First, the original male advantage was due to the effects of the GI Bill:
A recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found men dominated college campuses until the late 1970s through largely artificial means. The GI Bill after World War II made it easier for thousands of veterans to afford college, and the military draft throughout the Vietnam War created an incentive for men to enroll. The analysis by three Harvard University economists suggests the current gender enrollment gap would be larger now if it wasn’t for those earlier motivations for men.” (From US News & World Report, June 26).
Second, at the elite selective colleges there is no gender gap, and remember that only about 5% of the colleges and universities in our country are truly selective. So rich boys get into rich colleges at the same rate (or higher) than rich girls.
And finally, if you look at some of the highest paid professions, you will still find a significant male advantage. For example, a recent National Science Foundation study found that fewer than 20% of recent engineering graduates are women.
William Velez, Ph.D.
UW-Milwaukee
Dept. of Sociology
