Higher education sees rising female enrollment
Across Utah State University’s 30 campuses, women have surpassed men in numbers. Nearly 55% of USU’s total 2024-25 enrollment is female, a trend that has steadily risen since 2020.
This growing gender gap is not unique to USU and represents a larger shift in higher education — colleges around the country are seeing more women and fewer men enroll.
“I’ve absolutely noticed this trend,” said Tatyana Felt, campus resource specialist and career design coach at USU Orem. “I think this trend started about 15 years ago. From the 1980s, the demographics have changed.”
According to the Women’s College Coalition, the late 1970s through the 1980s is when women would begin to exceed male enrollment, a shocking change as women were largely excluded from higher institutions for much of history.
It would take over a millennium for women to access higher institutions, with Wesleyan College being the first to grant women degrees in 1836. Oberlin College would follow soon after, admitting students regardless of race or gender in 1837.
“I think we’re seeing this change because of changing social expectations about women’s educational and professional opportunities,” Felt said. “There’s also increased support, like child care centers, group support and more financial aid available.”
While women’s integration into higher education was far from seamless, women would go on to make great strides and skyrocket female attendance. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, women make up 58% of undergraduate enrollment.
At USU, the gap has surpassed national trends, with nearly 70% female enrollment in 2020 at USU Orem.
“In 2020, we had 69% women, then in 2021, we had 64%,” Felt said. “In 2023, we had 65% and 64% in 2024, so we’ve been seeing women more than men.”
Laws such as the Equal Credit Opportunity Act — born from second-wave feminism in the early 1960s — allowed women to open bank accounts regardless of marital status, opening doors for careers outside of the home. These changes led to higher college attendance rates and remain a motivating factor for women today.
“I think women this age are seeking financial independence,” Felt said. “I just finished my fourth degree, and I’m a single mom, so I perceive education as that pathway for me. Education is extremely important to me because it gives me a foot in the door.”
Melissa Cecil obtained her bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies and is now a proctor at USU Orem.
“Being in the statewide campuses, I have noticed more women,” Cecil said. “I also feel like the statewide campuses offer a lot more flexibility, so it does reach certain demographics like moms.”
The availability of online or hybrid classes and parenting resources such as Care About Childcare, which connects parents with daycare services, has helped women cross certain barriers to college and increased enrollment.
“I do think we’re seeing a lot of things change to work for and benefit women, especially within the aspect of children and the realities women face with their career, ” Cecil said.
Genders are also clustering within specific majors, a gap trending toward women in fields geared towards the social sciences.
“We have a few top majors in Orem,” Felt said. “For communicative disorders, we have 97% female student body. Special education is 100%, psychology is 75% and human development and family studies is 100%.”
This gap is present among larger USU campuses as well — women made up 71% of USU Logan’s psychology program in 2021, one of the most popular majors among USU’s 28,900 students.
“It really depends on the major though,” Felt said. “For example, an MBA in business administration is only 20% women.”
While women are surpassing men in both college attendance and graduation rates, they still earn less and occupying fewer leadership positions than men.
According to Pew Research Center and S&P Global, women earn 82 cents for every dollar men earn, and female managers of top companies make up less than 12% of the demographic. The majors which women disproportionately cluster in, such as social work and education, are lower-paying fields. Nationwide, women make up less than half of higher-paying fields, such as business and engineering.
“For women going into male-dominated industries, have an honest expectation of that,” Cecil said. “As much as we like professors to be really inclusive and not exclude women as examples focused towards men, that tends to happen in these fields.”
Recent surveys from the Pew Research Center show nearly half of Americans consider four-year degrees less and less important amid rising costs and changing job markets, which begs the question of how valuable a four-year degree really is.
“A four-year degree is important to me, not just because of the opportunities it opened up for me but because of how much I have learned besides the degree-specific skills,” Felt said. “It’s the knowledge I learned about myself, the self-awareness, the social skills, the networking — you learn all that in college. However, it does depend on your individual goals.”
For others, a bachelor’s degree provides a safety net in today’s ever-changing economic climate.
“I think that things are just too unpredictable,” Cecil said. “Anything you can do for stability is good. My mom was a single, stay-at-home mom, and because she had a bachelor’s degree, she was able to support us.”
As less and less individuals are completing college, Cecil urges current students to finish out their degree.
“The biggest thing is that you have come this far,” Cecil said. “Continuing and finishing will mean just that much more for your future. Having that combined degree, employers will look so much more favorably than just the other years of college.”
Pew Research Center indicates more women are completing college, with 47% of women obtaining a bachelor’s compared to 37% of men. As degree-holders continue to make higher salaries on average than those without, according to a 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics report, having a degree can still make all the difference in earning potential.
“Don’t give up on finishing your degree,” Felt said. “There’s services and support available. Whether it’s mental health or financial difficulties, there are opportunities and support services that the university provides. Don’t give up because it’s worth it.”