Lack Of US Engineering Graduates Is A Gender Preference Problem

My comment to The Wall Street Journal, "The Excellence Gap: Our public schools are shortchanging their best students." by Sol Stern:

The lack of majors in engineering and physical science is primarily a college gender problem. Women do not choose an engineering major in the same numbers as men and there are many more women than men in college.

High school graduation rates after years of increasing started to decline around 1970, especially among males. Females have a higher high school graduation rate than males, and there are now about 1.4 women enrolled in college for every male. In 1960, the numbers were reversed and there were about 1.6 males for every woman in college. Not only are there more females in college than men, but percentage wise, a greater percentage of women high school graduates go on to college than men high school graduates.

A lower percentage, and a lower number, of women who are in college major in engineering or the physical sciences as compared to men.

On of the reasons that we have fewer engineering graduates is that the college student body is now composed of many more women and these women do not choose engineering as a major or profession.