Women make less money than men in these fields—and are more likely to drop out.
In the Wall Street Journal last week, Josh Mitchell reported that "Women account for a third of the nation's lawyers and doctors, a major shift from a generation ago." The report was triggered by a new analysis of occupations from the Census Bureau, which showed women increased their share of doctor and lawyer by four percent and six percent, respectively, from a decade earlier.
These professional advances mark "very significant progress," according to feminist economist Heidi Hartmann, and I don't disagree. Still, when I spoke to Mitchell I suggested he consider a glass-half-empty perspective, which somehow ended up on the cutting-room floor.
My question is, will progress continue? It doesn't look good. I happen to be a demographer, but you don't need to be one to see that progress for women in these fields is stalling.
First, look at the degrees earned. This figure uses statistics from the Department of Education and breaks the gender trend in law and medical degrees up by decades. Both trends show slowing progress—a smaller increase in women's representation each decade—and both peaked (for now) at just under 50 percent female.







