Over the past 20 years, the percentage of bachelors’ degrees in biology or chemistry being earned by women has increased steadily.

In 1981, women earned 30.1 percent of the 11,540 bachelors’ degrees awarded in chemistry and 44.5 percent of the 44,046 bachelors’ degrees awarded in biology.

By 1996, women earned 41.5 percent of the 11,137 bachelors’ degrees awarded in chemistry and the majority (52.9 percent) of the 62,081 bachelors’ degrees awarded in biology. Note that while the total number of degrees being awarded in chemistry in 1981 to 1996 has remained rather constant, the percentage of these degrees being awarded to women has increased 11.4 percent since 1981. In biology, the number of degrees awarded to women since 1981 has increased by 8.4 percent.

Reference: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Integrated Post-secondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Data restricted to U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents.