Women's entrance into the university in recent Brazilian history is a sign of the changes underway in our society. The present analysis takes the slice of the population that holds a university diploma and contextualizes it within the broader process of boosting enrollment at Brazilian schools, while emphasizing continuities and ruptures in the pattern of male and female participation in this arena. Based on the last four IBGE censuses, our analysis reveals that in thirty short years women have managed to reverse a picture of historical inequality and to solidify a new reality in which they are the clear majority (60%) of college graduates in younger cohorts. A comparison between those holding university degrees in 1970 and in 2000 shows a significant entrance of women into traditionally male courses.
education; gender relations; university teaching
