It should come as no surprise that as higher education in America has become more dominated by women it is facing more disparagement and less support since World War II.

Prior to World War II higher ed was male. Most professors were male, as were most students. Women were generally excluded from higher education, most of the schools in the United States were for men only, including the most elite Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Yale.  Yes, there were the Seven Sisters female-only colleges  for women, but for the most part, college could be defined as white male. And at the same time, the vast majority of university professors also were male.

As late as the early 1970s, barely a quarter of the college faculty in the United States were female. Among some of the most elite coed schools, there were no female professors. Women comprised about 40% of college students, but many schools still excluded women. But over the past 50 years, the composition of higher education, both in terms of faculty and in terms of percentage of students who are female, has dramatically changed.

For example, what we now know is that in the past few years, especially since 2009, college enrollment has dropped dramatically. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2020 the total number of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college was down by approximately 1.2 million from its peak in 2011.

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The decline is mostly college males. There are essentially 1 million fewer males in college now than there were back in 2011. In 2022 barely 42% of college students are male — almost a mirror reversal of male-female student enrollment ratio compared to 1970. But at the same time, what we should be looking at is how the faculty ratio has changed. And that what we’re now seeing, depending on what statistics you look at, is a dramatic shift in the composition of college faculty.

Remember again in 1970, approximately 24% were female. According to more recent statistics from Zippia, for example, we’re now looking at approximately 49.8% of faculty being female, 50.2% male, essentially parity on the surface. An AAUP 2020 survey found that 43% of full-time faculty who were in tenure-track positions were female, but 54% of the faculty who were full-time, non tenure-track were female.

Additionally, female faculty members make 94 cents on the dollar compared to males. Over time, as higher education has become more dominated by female students and faculty, what we’re seeing is a backlash. According to the AAUP  in 2022 only about 26.5% of all faculty are tenured, 10.5% are tenure track, annual contracts are 18%, and part time contingent 45%. The vast majority of individuals now who are teaching in America are what are part-time contingent, no protections with tenure. They are mostly women. The road to equity in higher education is characterized by overall falling salaries and less secure positions for women compared to when colleges and universities were dominated by men.

David Schultz

As higher education feminized, states cut funding, forcing increasing numbers of female students to borrow to finance their schooling. Student loan debt in 2023 is $1.8 trillion, with 67% of it owed by women.

The feminization of higher education has  been accompanied by the disparagement of higher education in America. As males exit higher America higher education, we see increasing attacks upon college and college degrees. No surprise that governors such as Gov. Ron DeSantis have attacked higher education as it has diversified. The same is true in Texas and across the country. Attacking and defunding higher education is part of the new war against women.

David Schultz is a distinguished professor at Hamline University. He teaches in political science, legal studies and environmental studies.

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