Recently released Census Bureau figures tell a tale of a shifting American higher academic portrait as more women are getting bachelor’s and advanced degrees than their male counterparts, the Associated Press reported [1]. “The educational gains for women are giving them greater access to a wider range of jobs, contributing to a shift of traditional gender roles at home and work,” AP said. “Based on one demographer’s estimate, the number of stay-at-home dads who are the primary caregivers for their children reached nearly 2 million last year, or one if 15 fathers.” The number of at-home moms was roughly 5 million, according to Census data.
A University of Michigan-Flint economics professor said that, given the new data, “Men now might be the ones more likely to be staying home, doing the more traditional child rearing.” (April 2011)