--- title: "Class of 2013: Women, Hispanics Driving Diversity Growth" description: The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) expects the Class of 2013 to total 1,744,000 bachelor’s degree graduates. Women will account for approximately 57 percent of bachelor’s degrees. image: https://blog.diversitynursing.com/hs-fs/file-16122110-jpg/images/graph.jpg --- ![](https://blog.diversitynursing.com/hs-fs/file-16122110-jpg/images/graph.jpg) ### Class of 2013: Women, Hispanics Driving Diversity Growth *Posted By* Hannah McCaffrey Tue, Sep 11, 2012 @ 07:44 AM - - - Overall, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) expects the Class of 2013 to total 1,744,000 bachelor’s degree graduates. Women will account for approximately 57 percent of bachelor’s degrees. This continues a trend that started in the early 1980s, the last time men earned more bachelor’s degrees than women. In addition to the gains women are making, most racial/ethnic groups are gaining ground. Hispanic graduates, in particular, are responsible for much of that growth. Overall, racial/ethnic minorities account for approximately 29 percent of bachelor’s degrees. That’s up from around 25 percent at the end of the 1990s. (See Figure 1.)   Just as females account for a larger portion of degrees conferred, so too are females driving much of the gains in diversity. For example, the most current data show that African-American females account for 6.5 percent of degrees; their male counterparts, just 3.4 percent. Meanwhile, Hispanic females earned 5.2 percent of bachelor’s degrees, compared to 3.3 percent earned by male Hispanics. Figure 1: Degrees Conferred by Racial/Ethnic Group, 2009-10 versus 1999-00 ![graph](https://blog.diversitynursing.com/hs-fs/file-16122110-jpg/images/graph.jpg) Source: 2011 Digest of Education Statistics, Table 300. National Center for Education Statistics. Data are for bachelor’s degree graduates. Topics : - [diversity](https://blog.diversitynursing.com/blog/topic/diversity) - [education](https://blog.diversitynursing.com/blog/topic/education) - [ethnic](https://blog.diversitynursing.com/blog/topic/ethnic) - [nurse](https://blog.diversitynursing.com/blog/topic/nurse) - [ethnicity](https://blog.diversitynursing.com/blog/topic/ethnicity) - [racial group](https://blog.diversitynursing.com/blog/topic/racial-group) ### Recent Posts [![](https://blog.diversitynursing.com/hubfs/GettyImages-1428257600.jpg) ##### Advancing Mental Health Equity for Every Community Thu, Jul 02, 2026 @ 09:34 AM Every July, the United States observes National Minority Mental Health Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness about the unique mental health challenges experienced by racial and ethnic minority... Read More ](https://blog.diversitynursing.com/blog/advancing-mental-health-equity-for-every-community) [![](https://blog.diversitynursing.com/hubfs/GettyImages-2196910512.jpg) ##### Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in Nursing School and Beyond Wed, Jun 24, 2026 @ 01:29 PM There's a moment almost every nursing student experiences. You're standing at the bedside, maybe it's your first clinical day, maybe it's your first week on the floor as a new grad, and a small, cold... Read More ](https://blog.diversitynursing.com/blog/overcoming-imposter-syndrome-in-nursing-school-and-beyond) [![](https://blog.diversitynursing.com/hubfs/GettyImages-2173000043.jpg) ##### We're Still Burning: A Nurse's Take on the 2026 Burnout Statistics Wed, Jun 17, 2026 @ 10:33 AM I've been a Nurse long enough to remember when "burnout" wasn't something we talked about openly. You pushed through a brutal shift, grabbed a lukewarm coffee from the break room, and did it all... Read More ](https://blog.diversitynursing.com/blog/were-still-burning-a-nurses-take-on-the-2026-burnout-statistics) #### Subscribe to Email Our Newsletter [![Education_Award_Square](https://blog.diversitynursing.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Education_Award_Square.jpeg?width=485&height=317&name=Education_Award_Square.jpeg) ](https://blog.diversitynursing.com/education-award)