Census: Women Equal to Men in Advanced Degrees

Women are now just as likely as men to have completed college and are virtually equal in earning advanced degrees.

So says the Census Bureau, highlighting an accelerating trend of educational gains for women that have helped shield them from recent job losses. The new figures show that about 29 percent of all women in the U.S. have at least a bachelor's degree, compared to 30 percent of men. Measured by raw numbers, women already surpass men in undergraduate degrees, by roughly 1.2 million.

Women also have drawn even with men in advanced degrees, making up roughly half of those with a master's, professional degree, or doctorate. At current rates, women could surpass men in total advanced degrees this year, even though they lag in business, science, and engineering.