The Pentera Blog
Gender Gap in Higher Education May Bode Well for Charitable and Planned Giving
Women are walking away with a clear majority of the diplomas awarded by institutions of higher education across America, continuing a long-established trend.
In the 2019-20 academic year, women earned 58% of bachelor’s degrees, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Women also outpaced men in receiving graduate degrees. In the 2018-19 academic year, women earned 64% of master’s degrees and 56% of Ph.D.s.
Women have been earning a growing percentage of college degrees for decades. In 1970, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, women earned just 9.1% of bachelor’s degrees. That rocketed to 50% by 2001-02 and has been continuing to climb ever since.
What this means for charitable giving is a growing pool of potentially generous donors. Research has consistently shown that people with college degrees are more likely to give to charity than those without. It has also shown women to be more likely to give to charity than men—and give more. Research by Texas Tech professor Russell James has also uncovered that having a college degree is a good predictor of someone who will include a charity in their estate plan.
All of this bodes well for charities and serves as a reminder that, when looking to build relationships with donors of all kinds, women remain an excellent place to start.
