Women in the U.S. are earning college degrees at significantly higher rates than men, a generational shift that spans every major racial and ethnic group.
But despite their academic gains, women remain underrepresented in corporate leadership, underscoring a stubborn gender gap between the classroom and the boardroom.
New data from Pew Research Center shows that 47 percent of women between the ages of 25 and 34 now hold a bachelor’s degree, compared with 37 percent of men. In 1995, the rates were identical at 25 percent each.
Since then, women have increased their share by 22 percentage points, while men’s degree takeup has grown by just 12 percentage points.
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- Policy Counsel, ACLU of New Hampshire, Concord
- Research Associates, J.L. Partners, New York
- Police Crime Analyst, City of Danville, VA, Danville
- Senior Policy Specialist, Arnold & Porter, Washington
- Policy Associate, LHH, Tulsa
The disparity holds across racial and ethnic lines, though the gap is wider in some communities than others.
Among young white adults, 52 percent of women have a bachelor’s degree compared with 42 percent of men. For Black adults, the divide is even greater with 38 percent of women versus 26 percent of men.
Hispanic women also outpace men, 31 percent to 22 percent. Asian Americans show the smallest gender gap, with 77 percent of women and 71 percent of men holding degrees.
According to a previous Pew survey in 2021, when asked why they chose not to pursue a four-year degree, men without one were more likely to say they simply didn’t want to, while women cited affordability as the primary barrier.
Despite this, the surge in women’s educational attainment has not led to parity in the workplace. Women represent nearly 60 percent of college students nationwide, yet they hold less than a third of senior management roles and just over 10 percent of Fortune 500 CEO positions, according to Catalyst, a workplace equity nonprofit.
Why the disconnect?
This disconnect raises questions about whether policy interventions are needed to ensure women’s educational progress translates into career advancement.
Proposals such as expanding paid family leave, strengthening pay equity laws, and supporting diversity reporting requirements in corporations have all been floated as ways to chip away at barriers.
Supporters argue that closing the leadership gap isn’t only about fairness but can lead to business success too. Research suggests companies with gender-diverse leadership outperform their peers financially.
However, structural barriers, workplace bias and a shortage of leadership opportunities are key reasons why women’s academic success has not translated into leadership gains.
For example, persistent gender bias continues to influence the hiring processes, with women often overlooked for leadership roles despite possessing qualifications comparable to men.
Recent rollbacks of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives are further undermining progress. Several major U.S. corporations, including JPMorgan Chase, Google, and Meta scaled back DE&I programs in the wake of Trump-era directives that sought to limit diversity training.
Looking to the future
However, there is hope that using AI in hiring could help solve this problem, despite fears around AI replacing human workers altogether.
While AI will take some jobs, such as customer service and junior admin roles for example, what is far more likely is that the AI-savvy will be the ones to secure jobs in the future.
That knowledge extends to both how they use AI tools within their day-to-day roles, but also in terms of how they find jobs in the first place.
By automating and streamlining certain tasks such as initial resume screening and skills matching, AI agents like Robin can be used to deliver a far superior candidate journey.
Additionally, they anonymise resume data and prioritise relevant skills over subjective factors such as educational pedigree or perceived “fit”.
In fact, according to Insight Global’s 2025 AI in Hiring Survey, 99 percent of hiring managers now use AI in some capacity throughout their recruitment workflows, and 98 percent report significant improvements in hiring efficiency.
In short, advancing gender equity in leadership hinges on pairing thoughtfully designed, bias-conscious AI tools with unwavering commitment to DE&I. Without both, the gender gap in the boardroom will remain entrenched.
And as women continue to outpace men in higher education, the policy debate may soon shift from access to degrees to access to power and whether corporate America is ready to put provisions in place to address this issue. Or not.
