There is some evidence that men may become less infl uential in the U.S. workforce,
with women becoming dominant players, because women’s approach is
more attuned to the needs and values of a multicultural environment. For example,
there’s a stunning gender reversal in U.S. education, with girls taking over almost
every leadership role from kindergarten to graduate school. Women of all races
and ethnic groups are outpacing men in earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
In mid-2006, women made up 58 percent of undergraduate college students.48
Among 25- to 29-year-olds, 32 percent of women have college degrees, compared
to 27 percent of men. Women are rapidly closing the M.D. and Ph.D. gap, and
they make up about half of all U.S. law students, half of all undergraduate business
majors, and about 30 percent of MBA candidates. In addition, studies show
that women students are more achievement-oriented, less likely to skip classes,
spend more time studying, and typically earn higher grades.49 Overall, women’s
participation in both the labor force and civic affairs has steadily increased since
the mid-1950s, whereas men’s participation has slowly but steadily declined.