What explains the latest sharp enhance in ladies philosophy majors?
Within the following, Eric Schwitzgebel (UC Riverside) presents information displaying a rise within the share of ladies majoring in philosophy over the previous six years, and puzzles over some potential explanations for the change.
(A model of this put up beforehand appeared at The Splintered Mind.)
[photo of “Mood & Quantify” by Laurie Frick]
Share of Ladies Philosophy Majors Has Risen Sharply Since 2016 — Why?
Or: The 2017 Knuckle
by Eric Schwitzgebel
Again in 2017, I noticed that the share of ladies philosophy majors within the U.S. had been 30%-34% for “roughly eternally”. That’s, regardless of the rising share of Bachelor’s levels awarded to ladies general and in most different majors, the share of philosophy Bachelor’s levels awarded to ladies had been remarkably regular from the primary out there years (1986-1987) within the NCES IPEDS database by the then-most-recent information 12 months (2016).
Previously few years, nonetheless, I’ve seen some signs of change. The newest NCES IPEDS information launch, which I analyzed lately, statistically solidifies the pattern. Ladies now represent over 40% of philosophy Bachelor’s diploma recipients.
I might argue that it is a very materials change from the long-standing pattern of 30-34%. If parity is 50%, a change from 32% ladies to 41% ladies constitutes a halving of the disparity. Moreover, the change has been fully in the latest six years’ of knowledge—remarkably swift for any such demographic shift.
The chart under exhibits the historic pattern by the latest out there 12 months (2022). I’ve marked the 30%-34% band with thick horizontal strains. A skinny vertical line marks 2017, the primary 12 months to cross the 34% mark (34.9%). The newest years are 41.4% and 41.3% respectively.
Given the knuckle-like change within the slope of the graph, let’s name this the 2017 Knuckle.
What I discover puzzling is why?
This doesn’t replicate an general pattern of accelerating percentages of ladies throughout majors. Total, ladies have been 56%-58% of Bachelor’s diploma recipients all through the twenty first century. Most different humanities and social sciences had a a lot earlier enhance within the proportion of ladies.
Nonetheless, curiously, the bodily sciences and engineering, which have additionally tended to be disproportionately males, have confirmed some comparable traits. Since 2010, physics majors have elevated from 40% to 45% ladies—with all of that enhance being since 2017. Since 2010, Engineering has elevated from 18% to 25% ladies, with the majority of the rise since 2016. Since 2010, “Engineering Applied sciences and Engineering-related Fields” (which NCES classifies individually from Engineering) has additionally elevated from 10% to fifteen% ladies, once more with many of the enhance since 2016. Among the many humanities and social sciences, Economics is possibly the one massive main much like Philosophy in gender disparity, and in Economics we see an analogous pattern, although smaller: a rise from 31% to 35% ladies between 2010 and 2022, once more with many of the acquire since 2016.
Since folks are inclined to resolve their majors a couple of years earlier than graduating, no matter explains these traits will need to have begun in roughly 2013-2016, then elevated by no less than 2020. Any hypotheses?
It’s most likely not a results of change within the share of ladies college: School turnover is gradual, and no less than in philosophy the proof suggests a gradual enhance over the many years, fairly than a knuckle. (Knowledge are sparser and fewer dependable on this challenge, however see here, here and here.) There also wasn’t much change within the 2010s within the share of ladies incomes Philosophy PhDs within the U.S.
A modeling speculation would recommend that change within the share of ladies philosophy majors is pushed by a change within the share of ladies college and TAs in Philosophy. In distinction, a pipeline speculation predicts that change within the share of ladies philosophy majors results in a change within the share of ladies graduate college students and (years later) college. Each hypotheses posit a relationship between ladies undergraduates and girls instructors, however with totally different instructions of causation. (The hypotheses aren’t, in fact, incompatible: Causation may movement each methods.) At the very least in Philosophy, the modeling speculation doesn’t appear to elucidate the 2017 Knuckle. Regarding the pipeline, it’s too early to inform, however when the NSF releases their information on doctorates in October, I’ll search for preliminary indicators.
I’m additionally inclined to assume—although I’m actually open to proof—that feminism has been slowly, steadily rising in U.S. tradition, fairly than being roughly flat because the late Eighties and lately rising once more. So a common cultural enhance in feminist attitudes wouldn’t particularly clarify the 2017 Knuckle. Now it’s true that 2015-2017 noticed the rise of Trump, and the backlash against Trump, in addition to the explosion of the #MeToo motion. Perhaps that’s essential? It might be fairly exceptional if these cultural occasions had a considerable impact on the share of ladies undergraduates declaring Philosophy, Economics, Physics, and Engineering majors.
Additional ideas? What explains the 2017 Knuckle?
It could possibly be fascinating to have a look at different nations, and at race/ethnicity information, and at majors that are typically disproportionately ladies—patterns there may doubtlessly forged mild on the impact—however sufficient for at present.
Methodological notes:
NCES IPEDS makes an attempt to gather information on each graduating scholar in accredited Bachelor’s packages within the U.S., utilizing administrator-supplied statistics. Gender classes are binary “males” and “ladies” with no unclassified college students. Knowledge are restricted to “U.S. solely” establishments in classification class 38.01 (“Philosophy”) and embody each first and second majors again by 2001. Earlier than 2001, solely first majors can be found. Every year consists of all graduates through the educational 12 months ending in that 12 months (e.g., 2022 consists of all college students from the 2021-2022 educational 12 months). For engineering and bodily sciences, I used main catories 15, 16, and 40; and for Economics, 45.06.
