Girl in the class For the first time, American women have passed men in gaining advanced college degrees as well as bachelor\'s degrees, part of a trend that is helping redefine who goes off to work and who stays home with the kids.
Census figures released on Tuesday highlight the latest education milestone for women, who began to exceed men in college enrolment in the early 1980s. The findings come amid record shares of women in the workplace and a steady decline in stay-at-home mothers.

The educational gains for women are giving them greater access to a wider range of jobs, contributing to a shift of traditional gender roles at home and work. Based on one demographer\'s estimate, the number of stay-at-home fathers who are the primary caregivers for their children reached nearly 2 million last year, or one in 15 fathers.

The official census tally was 154,000, based on a narrower definition that excludes those working part-time or looking for jobs.
\"The gaps we\'re seeing in bachelor\'s and advanced degrees mean that women will be better protected against the next recession,\" said Mark Perry, an economics professor at the University of Michigan-Flint.