The Gender Gap in Educational Attainment: Variation by Race, Ethnicity, and Nativity in the United States

Sarah R. Crissey, U.S. Census Bureau
Nicole Scanniello, U.S. Census Bureau
Hyon B. Shin, U.S. Census Bureau

Researchers studying gender and education note that the gender gap in educational attainment has been shrinking in recent decades. In fact, women have surpassed men in the proportion with high school diplomas and will soon do so at the bachelor’s level. Prior research documents variation in this gender gap by race and ethnicity, but largely ignores the heterogeneity of the US population, particularly regarding nativity. As the immigrant population grows, research on their social characteristics becomes increasingly important. Using data from the newly expanded American Community Survey, we explore three questions: Does the gender gap in educational attainment exist for varying segments of the US population by race/ethnicity and nativity? Where does it exist? Which group has the largest gap? We address these questions by comparing educational attainment by sex at the secondary and post-secondary levels among native and foreign-born populations by race and ethnicity across 5-year age groups.