Women with a College Degree

DEFINITION

Percent college-level educational attainment of female adults aged 25 years or older, reported in 2019.60

35.8 percent

43.4 percent

OKLAHOMA

Data Highlight: NATIONAL AVERAGE

“Between 2004 and 2014, the share of Black women with a bachelor’s degree or higher increased by 23.9 percent nationwide, making Black women the group of women with the second-largest improvement in attainment of higher education during the decade.” 60,61

Why We Care:

Education is a social determinant of health that is linked to higher wages.62 The ability to make higher wages in a more stable job can reduce stress and increase a woman’s ability to afford healthier foods, safer living options, and in Oklahoma’s current Medicaid non-expansion state, continuous health care. Educational attainment provides many Oklahoma women with security and independence, however, outcomes can be bleak for women who access higher education, but do not earn a degree.62 Black women are more likely than any other racial or ethnic group to access higher education, with a 23.9 increase in degree attainment between 2004 and 2014, but are the second-highest ranked in completion.61 Accessing higher education but not earning a degree can create financial hardship as the combination of student loan borrowing without degree attainment can thwart higher earnings and increase debt.60,63

What We Can Do:

- Increase access to careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), skilled trades, and other disciplines that are in demand, with high earning potential, where women are underrepresented - Advocate for fair pay in professions that are predominated by women - Maintain federal grants that provide support for parenting students

Lookbook Vol. 2

p. 39