We’ve seen the trends on AP course and college enrollments for boys and girls. In 2005, 57 percent of undergraduates were female, and the disparity will only rise in the coming years (see this summary). Furthermore, while in college, women work harder and engage their professors more. In 05-06, women scored 26 points higher on graduation rates. One reason appears in last year’s American Freshman survey numbers from the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA (go here and click on the first HERI “Brief” listed). “Interestingly,” the summary stated, “men and women reported engaging in a few essential learning behaviors in high school with very different frequency.” Many more female students than male students reported that they frequently revise papers for class (55 percent for females, 37 percent for males), and many more would seek feedback on their work (49 percent females to 38 percent males).
Those behavioral differences help explain the disparate outcomes at the higher-ed level. We may add them to other differences in leisure time such as more book reading and less video gaming than boys. With election numbers beginning to materialize, we may add another behavioral difference, precisely in voting rates.
According to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (go here and click on “Circle Fact Sheet”), there was a 10-point difference in the 18- to 29-year-old voting pool. Women made up 55 percent of this age cohort, men 45 percent (the overall population was 53 to 47 percent). Among African-American youth voters, the gap rose to 61 percent vs. 39 percent.
The differences reflect back upon education levels. While 57 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds have had some college experience, 70 percent of the youth electorate had some college experience. People without a high-school diploma made up only 6 percent of the youth electorate, but they make up 14 percent of the general population. More education means more voting.
And so, in the coming years as women pass 60 percent of the college student population, we may wonder if they will raise their voting proportions as well, perhaps approaching 60 percent of the electorate, and bringing more political power with them, more attention to and a decided slant on particular issues.
