The gender gap among college majors once dominated by men is narrowing, and younger generations of women account for nearly half of science and business graduates, a USA TODAY analysis of new Census data shows. In 2009, about 47% of science and engineering degree holders ages 25 to 39 were women, compared with 21% among those 65 and older. For business majors, about 48% of younger graduates were female — more than double that of older generations. MAP: Participation in 2010 Census FULL COVERAGE: Census 2010 VIDEO: 10 strange facts about the Census The data, released Tuesday in the government’s annual American Community Survey, come as women this year for the first time outnumbered men in the nation’s workforce of 130 million. “Larger percentages of these professions are attracting women,” says Betty Shanahan, executive director of the Society of Women Engineers. But, she says, disparities persist among strictly engineering majors, where more than four in five are men. In the sciences, women account for a majority of graduates in psychology and the biological sciences, 2007 data from the National Science Foundation show, but trail in engineering and computer science, around 18% of both majors. “Girls see (engineering) as a very ‘white male’ profession, which it is, and they don’t get messages about how they can balance their personal lives and a very exciting career,” Shanahan says. This Census tallied, for the first time, the number of bachelor’s degrees among women and men 25 years or older. Among all majors counted — humanities, business, education, science and engineering — women under 40 had greater parity among men when compared with older generations of Americans. Still, gender pay inequities persist in the workforce: Among full-time workers in 2009, the new Census data show a woman’s median earnings were roughly 78% of a man’s ($35,549 compared with $45,485). Newer Labor Department figures from the second quarter of 2010 show women earned about 83% of a man’s median weekly wage. Overall, the new Census data show more Americans are earning college degrees, a likely byproduct of the recession. Those with a bachelor’s degree or higher rose from 27% in 2006 to almost 28% in 2009.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s colleges are attracting record numbers of new students as more Hispanics finish high school and young adults opt to pursue a higher education rather than languish in a weak job market. A study released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center highlights the growing diversity in higher education amid debate over the role of race in college admissions and controversy over Arizona ‘s new ban on ethnic studies in public schools. ADMISSIONS: Colleges urged to use affirmative action based on economic class Newly released government figures show that freshman enrollment surged 6% in 2008 to a record 2.6 million, mostly due to rising minority enrollment. That is the highest increase since 1968 during the height of the Vietnam War, when young adults who attended college could avoid the military draft. Almost three-quarters of the freshman increases in 2008 were minorities, of which the largest share was Hispanics. HISPANIC HIGHER ED: College success is all in the family VIDEO SERIES: ‘Non-traditional’ students struggle to complete degrees The enrollment increases were clustered mostly at community colleges, trade schools, and large public universities, which tend to have more open admissions policies and charge less tuition. Still, the gains in minorities were seen at almost all levels of higher education, with white enrollment dipping to 53% at community colleges and 62% at four-year colleges. Preliminary government data show freshman college enrollment continued rising in 2009 to fresh highs, but demographic breakdowns were not yet available. “The nation is moving beyond whether minorities have access to post-secondary education,” said Richard Fry, a senior researcher at Pew who wrote the report. “The question increasingly is not ‘which youth go beyond high school?’ but ‘who goes where?’” California, the District of Columbia, Arizona, Alabama and Nevada had the largest freshman enrollment increases in 2008, with gains ranging from 11% to 21%. States registering declines included Minnesota, Nebraska, Delaware and Oklahoma, which dropped as much as 5%. Demographers say much of the college enrollment gains reflect the nation’s rapidly changing demographics, in which 43% of all students in K-12 are now minority. But the recession, too, is adding to the increases as more high school graduates — primarily Hispanics — enroll immediately in college rather than take their chances in the labor force. Among the findings: •Freshman enrollment of Hispanics in higher education jumped by 15% in 2008, compared to 8% for blacks, 6% for Asians and 3% for whites. •The share of 18- to 24-year-olds who earned a high school diploma reached an all-time high of 85%, up from 84% in 2007. Among Asians, the number was 92%, whites 90%, blacks 79% and Hispanics 70%. •Colleges showing the largest freshmen increases included Fresno City College in California, jumping 448% to 2,998 students; Arizona State University, rising 21% to 8,458; and American Public University System in West Virginia, increasing 332% to 121 students. The findings add to the burgeoning debate over the role of race in America amid a steady rise in the minority population that is expected to make them the new American majority by mid-century. In Arizona, Gov. Jan Brewer last month signed a measure banning ethnic studies courses in public schools if they serve to promote racial solidarity or are designed primarily for students of a particular race. Several minority groups have praised Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan , who as solicitor general authorized the filing of a brief by the Justice Department defending the constitutionality of the University of Texas’ affirmative action program that considers race in undergraduate admissions. The case, still pending, is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court. Fry noted that minority enrollment appeared to be concentrated in the “basic tiers” of higher education, such as community colleges and trade schools. It is not clear whether gains occurred in more selective four-year colleges, which often use affirmative action to promote diversity. In addition, while Hispanics have seen recent gains in college enrollment, they still lag overall. Hispanics make up roughly 12% of full-time undergraduate and graduate students, compared to their 16% representation in the total U.S. population. “These findings are only half reassuring,” Fry said. “Many Hispanic teens still are not graduating high school, and the high school gains may not be sustained when the teen labor market revives. It also remains to be seen how many of these additional minority freshmen will actually complete degrees.” Pew, an independent research group, based its findings on 2008 data from the Census Bureau and the Education Department. The figures for “white” refer to those whites who are not of Hispanic ethnicity. Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.