A fresh look at enrollment data from Colombia’s universities shows that while women now make up the majority of college students nationwide, the fields they choose to study remain sharply divided by gender.
According to figures cited by El Tiempo, women account for 53.3 out of every 100 university students in the country, compared to 46.6 out of 100 men, out of a total of 2,723,364 students enrolled in higher education. Despite this overall balance—and even a slight edge for women—certain academic disciplines tell a very different story.
In psychology programs, for example, roughly 8 out of every 10 students are women, making it one of the most female-dominated fields in Colombian academia. Mechanical engineering sits at the opposite extreme: women represent just 13 percent of students, leaving the field overwhelmingly male.
The pattern reflects broader trends seen in many countries, where caregiving-oriented and health-related fields attract more women, while technical and engineering disciplines remain male-strongholds. The report suggests this divide persists even as more women than ever are entering Colombian universities overall.
Curious which other careers show the widest—or narrowest—gender gaps? Read the full analysis at El Tiempo to see the complete breakdown by field of study.
Source: La radiografía de las carreras más estudiadas por género en las universidades colombianas (eltiempo.com). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: kevin dooley, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).