Men in Higher Ed: The Trend Continues

The declining numbers of men in higher education continues to worry us for many reasons. It does not detract from the notable advances by women in STEM majors and among advanced degree recipients to say that declining representation by men in higher education is a trend that yields nothing but bad outcomes. Maybe 70 or more years ago, a male with a high school education (or even less) could find a well-paying job hanging doors on Chevy Impalas at the GM car plant, but today, that same job and many more are being done by robots at a fraction of the cost. The upside is that an Impala is still reasonably affordable. Yet, the downside is that there are fewer opportunities for non-college-educated people (not just men) to live a middle-class life.

Societies become unstable for many reasons, but high among them is when large numbers of young men face bleak social and economic futures. A blog post by Richard Reeves, formerly of the Brookings Institution and now the founding president of the American Institute for Boys and Men, captures the challenges of this problem quite well. The critical point is that the rise of women in higher education is not the causative factor in the downward spiral of men. Goldie Blumenstyk, writing in the Chronicle of Higher Education, describes laudable ways colleges and universities are pursuing men using some of the same tools as were successful in rectifying disparities involving women. But, the real causes are happening long before either men or women complete the Common App, and it is at the elementary and secondary levels where interventions are needed most.