The first bar chart illustrates how the percentage of undergraduate men and women changed in two years: 1992 and 2012, while the second bar chart shows their choice of three different science subjects during the same period.
Overall, while the proportion of males was on an upward trajectory, the reverse was true for that of males. Despite this decrease, the former stood out with bigger figures. Although biology and physics classes fell out of favour, computer science gained popularity.
In 1992, males represented the majority of undergraduate students, accounting for around 65%, which was more than double the figure for females at around 31%. By 2012, the former had posted a noticeable decrease, accounting for a half, whereas the latter increased significantly to reach an all-time high of 45%.
Regarding subject preferences, biology classes were the most popular in 1992, at 65% – a proportion that then decreased significantly, falling to around 40%. Albeit to this decrease, it oustripped others by a wide margin. A similar downward trend could be observed in physics classes, with their figure falling from initial 23% to 20% two decades later. Enrollments for computer science, by contrast, constituted approximately a quarter in 2012, up from a mere 4% in 1992.