The field where women enjoy a 4:1 majority

In American universities, women outnumber men by a margin of about 3:2. Since their representation is low in science and engineering (in general), their numerical advantage in humanities and social sciences is better than 3:2. Thus, this news about a scientific field being "predominantly female" came as a big surprise:

While men still outnumber women in scientific fields such as computer science and engineering, the field of veterinary medicine is well on its way to becoming predominantly female, The Boston Globe reports.

The reporter, Sarah Schweitzer, notes that 79 percent of the students at the 28 veterinary schools in the United States are female. The ratios are even more skewed at some schools “such as Tufts, where last year 89 percent of its first-year class were women; at Michigan State and University of California-Davis, 88 percent and 81 percent, respectively, of the incoming classes are women,” she adds.

The Boston Globe report is here. Thanks to Arun for the e-mail alert.