According to the latest Survey of Earned Doctorates from the National Science Foundation, in 2013, women earned 46.2 percent of all doctorates awarded by American universities. While the gender gap in doctoral degrees is significant, it is not large.
But there are many academic disciplines in which the gender gap in doctoral degrees is substantial. Here are some of the academic fields where women earn less than one third of all doctorates awarded:
In contrast, there are a number of academic fields where women earned at least three quarters of all doctoral degree awards in 2013. Some examples include:
The statistic on women earning doctorates in theology is misleading. I, for example, have a Ph.D. In Religion but taught theology at a Christian seminary. In Catholic instituions, Biblical studies, ethics and church history are considered theological disciplines. Women with degrees in Religious Studies also sometimes specialize in theology. There has been an explosion of Catholic women going into theologically related disciplines since they were excluded from the possibility of ordination in 1976.
Thanks for the clarification. We are simply reporting numbers supplied to us by the National Science Foundation for one particular year.
As an educator of young children who also has three nieces interested in STEM fields I will continue to push them and also my classroom students towards these fields. Thanks for the update