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MYTH VS. FACT: Do Black Women “Lead” in Higher Education?

 MYTH

Black women are the most educated group in America and hold the most advanced degrees overall.

Why this myth spread:
The phrase is often used in headlines, social media, and motivational content—but it collapses within-group success into an across-the-population claim.

FACT

Black women are the most educated within the Black population—but not across all racial groups nationally.

According to the U.S. Department of Education (NCES) and the Survey of Earned Doctorates:

  • Black women earn more college degrees than Black men at every level

    • Associate

    • Bachelor’s

    • Master’s

    • Doctorate

  • Roughly two-thirds of degrees awarded to Black Americans go to women

  • Black women earn the majority of doctorates awarded to Black recipients, especially in:

    • Education (Ed.D.)

    • Social sciences

    • Public policy

    • Public health and non-medical research fields

MYTH

Black women hold more doctorates than White or Asian Americans.

FACT

In absolute numbers and per-capita rates:

  • White Americans hold the largest share of doctorates

  • Asian Americans have the highest doctoral attainment rate

  • Black Americans—men and women—remain underrepresented overall

Black women’s achievement is real and significant, but it exists within broader structural inequality.

MYTH

The phrase “most educated” means equal access or outcomes.

FACT

Despite higher educational attainment relative to Black men:

  • Black women still face pay gaps

  • Higher student loan debt

  • Underrepresentation in tenure-track academia, corporate leadership, and STEM research roles

Education has not translated into proportional economic or institutional power.

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