College 'gender gap' favoring women stops growing

Article here. Excerpt:

'-- More men are attending college and graduating with a bachelor's degree, reversing the tendency of female undergraduates to outnumber men and outperform them academically, according to a new report out Tuesday.

One notable exception is young Hispanic men - especially new immigrants - who are falling further behind Hispanic women.

Men account for 43 percent of overall college enrollment and earn 43 percent of bachelor's degrees - figures that have remained consistent since the early 2000s.

However, the analysis by the Washington-based American Council on Education shows the disparity lies largely in the fact that men are much less likely than women to go to college - or return to college - later in life: Undergraduate men age 25 or older are outnumbered by women in the same age group 2-to-1.
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The U.S. Civil Rights Commission is investigating whether private liberal arts colleges in the Washington, D.C., area are discriminating against women in an effort to better balance their enrollments.

Linda Sax, an associate professor at the University of California, Los Angeles Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, said attention should focus on preparing and attracting low-income African-American and Latino men to college, given their historic under-representation.

"At the same time, we must acknowledge the fact that women continue to comprise the majority of low-income and first-generation college students and remain underrepresented in traditionally male fields like engineering and computer science," said Sax, author of "The Gender Gap in College: Maximizing the Developmental Potential of Women and Men." "Their needs ought not be overlooked."'