Women Now Make Up The Majority Of Law Students

In a historic milestone, women now make up the majority of law students in the United States, comprising of just over a 50 percent of the seats at accredited Law Schools in the country.

According to the American Bar Association, the number of male and female students enrolled in Juris Doctorate programs had been nearly equal until this year which also marked the first time women law students outnumbered their male counterparts.

Data released by the American Bar Association shows that 55,766 women were enrolled nationwide in a Juris Doctorate program compared with 55,059 men.

The released data also showed that over 51 percent of first year students were female.

The American Bar Association requires accredited schools to annually disclose data in a number of fields such as admissions, financial aid and employment outcomes.

Most law schools however, do not require students to identify their gender hence some students are not included in the data as they do not identify with either gender.

Overall, law school enrollment remains flat with only a tiny increase in first year students.

Enrollment numbers have stabilized after dropping drastically by almost 30 percent since 2010.

Women outnumbering men in law schools is a historical milestone as this was one area where male enrollment exceeded female enrollment despite women historically having earned 57.1 percent of college degrees.

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Cover Photo: University of Michigan School of Law. Jason Crotty/Flickr (CC By 2.0)

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