The Gender Gap Paradox

1
The Gender Gap Paradox

• Emelyn dela Pena
• EDL 840
• April 28, 2006

2
Introduction

• An examination of the 4-year a 6-year graduation
  rates between women and men at UCSD, other UCs
  and 15 comparison institutions nationwide
• An examination of graduation rate gaps between
  groups of women in different ethnic groups
• An exploration of other possible research
  questions

3
Vocabulary

• Graduation Rate Data The institutional
  graduation-rate data presented in College Results
  Online is collected by U.S. Department of
  Educations National Center for Education
  Statistics, through a centralized higher
  education data collection process called the
  Integrated Post-secondary Education Data System
  (IPEDS). IPEDS consists of a series of surveys
  through which institutions provide data about
  themselves on a variety of topics. One of those
  surveys is the Graduation Rate Survey (GRS).
•  
• GRS graduation rates are based on the percentage
  of first-time, full-time, degree-seeking freshmen
  who earn a bachelors degree from the institution
  where they originally enrolled. Undergraduates
  who begin as part-time or non degree-seeking
  students, or who transfer into the institution
  from elsewhere in higher education, are not
  included in the GRS cohort.

4
Vocabularycont.

• 4-Year and 6-Year Graduation Rates These rates
  are cumulative. For example, the six-year
  graduation rate shows the percent of students who
  graduated in 6 years or less, not the percent who
  took exactly 6 years to graduate. (IPEDS)
• Carnegie Classification Originally published in
  1973, the non-profit Carnegie Foundations
  classification system is widely used to
  distinguish higher education institution in terms
  of their degree programs and institutional
  mission. The most recent version was released in
  2000, with a new version expected in 2005. In
  calculating similarity scores for institutions,
  College Results Online uses the 1994
  classification system, because it provides the
  greatest degree of differentiation among
  institutions, and has the strongest predictive
  power relative to institutional graduation rates.
  The current system utilizes the following
  categories

5
UC San DiegoCharacteristics

• Doctoral/Research UniversitiesExtensive These
  institutions typically offer a wide range of
  baccalaureate programs, and they are committed to
  graduate education through the doctorate. During
  the period studied, they awarded 50 or more
  doctoral degrees per year across at least 15
  disciplines.
• Public Institution
• Median SAT 1260
• Student Related Expenditures/FTE 18, 077
• Size (Undergraduate) 19,299

6
UC San Diego 6-year Graduation Rates by Gender
2003
2002
Gap 5.6
Gap 4.6
2002-2003 2 increase in Male Grad Rate
7
UC San Diego 4-year Graduation Rates by Gender
2003
2002
Gap 16.6
Gap 14.7
2002-2003 1.9 increase in Male Grad Rate
8
UC System 4-year Graduation Rates by Gender
Average Gap System-wide 14.7
9
UC System 4-year Graduation Rates by Gender
Average Gap System-wide 14.98
10
UC System 6-year Graduation Rates by Gender
Average Gap System-wide 6.7
11
UC System 6-year Graduation Rates by Gender
Average Gap System-wide 6.1
12
Comparison Institutions
13
4-year Graduation Rates 2002
Average Gap 14.4
14
4-year Graduation Rates 2003
Average Gap 14.04
15
6-year Graduation Rates 2002
Average Gap 6.03
16
6-year Graduation Rates 2003
Average Gap 5.5
17
The Paradox

• Women earn 77 cents for each 1 men make
• --San Diego Union Tribune, April 25, 2006
• Of the 435 members of the House of
  Representatives, 67 are women
• --Washington Post, April 9, 2006

18
The Paradox at UCSD

• UCSD Senior Management Staff
• 78 Male
• 22 Female
• UCSD Management and Senior Professional
• 53 male
• 47 female
• UCSD Academic Staff
• Male 69
• Female 31
• UCSD Graduate Students
• Male 59
• Female 41

19
Oh there they are!

• UCSD Professional and Support Staff
• 33 Male
• 67 Female

20
UCSD 4-year Graduation Gap African American
Female
2002
Gap 23
Gap 1.8
21
UCSD 4-year Graduation GapAfrican American Female
2003
Gap 12.3
Gap 10
2002-2003 13.7 increase in African American
Female Grad Rate
22
UCSD 6-year Graduation GapAfrican American Female
2002
Gap 10.4
Gap 4.1
23
UCSD 6-year Graduation GapAfrican American Female
2003
Gap 2.4
Gap 8.2
2002-2003 3.7 increase in African American
Female Grad Rate
24
Comparison Institutions6-year Graduation
Rates2002
25
Comparison Institutions6-year Graduation
Rates2003
26
Comparison Institutions6-year Graduation
RatesAfrican American/Asian American Female
27
Comparison Institutions6-year Graduation
RatesAfrican American/Asian American Female
28
Summary

• Within the UC System and throughout 15 other
  comparison institutions, womens graduation rates
  surpass mens graduations rates.
• At UCSD graduate school students, faculty, and
  high ranking employees are still predominantly
  male.
• African American women are graduating at much
  lower rates than their White and Asian American
  counterparts.

29
Additional Research Questions

• What are the graduation gaps between women and
  men in the sciences and engineering?
• What is happening to the pipeline between
  graduation from undergraduate to graduate school?
  What is the breakdown for different fields of
  study?
• If women are graduating at a higher rate than
  men, what accounts for the higher rate of men in
  graduate school, in the faculty, and in high
  ranking administrative positions?
• What factors (gender-related or otherwise)
  influence salary gaps between women and men?
• What entry level positions are women and men
  entering and what rates are they being promoted?
• If women overall are graduating at a higher rate
  than men, why are African American women lagging
  behind White women?