Which Online Study Programs are the Most Popular with Women?

Although the average online college students are females in their early thirties, the massive open online course (MOOC) field has been largely dominated by men since the programs first began to gain popularity back in 2012. And the MOOC gender gap has been startling for many, with nine in every ten students in some MOOC's identifying as male. On the other hand, research shows that one in three women see online degrees as more achievable compared to traditional, campus-based programs.

But the lack of women in online programs did not come as a shock for many who track non-traditional classes – especially since science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) is such a male dominated area and so prevalent in online education. So which programs are women taking when they sign up for online study?

The future is looking bright for women in business, and online programs have made it easier than ever before for women looking to advance their business career despite other commitments like work and family. Statistics show that more women are studying business online than ever before, and with options like these MBA programs in Michigan, women are finding it easier than ever to invest in their education without the need to worry about childcare, cutting work hours or neglecting other commitments.

Statistics show that food and nutrition topped the list of online classes from Coursera that women prefer – over 60% of students enrolled identified as female. These classes teach a wide range of skills from learning to cook (often popular with younger career women) to nutritional science and more. Career options could include becoming a professional health nutritionist, personal trainer (with additional education) or chef.

Teacher professional development ranks high in MOOCs that women sign up for, with almost 60% female enrolment. It may not come as a surprise to anybody working in the teaching industry that teachers are predominantly female – data gathered in Australia found that amongst recent university graduates, 85% of primary school teachers and 68% of secondary school teachers are female.

Arts and humanities programs rank highly, too, with over 50% of enrolment being female. Programs such as English language and literature, music, fine art and humanities are popular online programs in general and particularly amongst creative students, who often fare well learning online, where they are able to enjoy the flexibility of studying at times that are most convenient to them and tailor their degree program to best suit their needs.

Health-related programs are also popular with women, with over 50% of students enrolled on health courses identifying as female. This may be due to the large amount of nursing programs now available for studying online – nursing is still a highly female-dominated profession, and thanks to distance learning, more nurses than ever before now have the opportunity to progress in their career by taking a master's degree or even a doctorate in nursing without the need to shift their work or family commitments. Online programs have provided many opportunities for nurses to become family nurse practitioners, for example, or easily learn a specialist area of their progression like anesthesia.

Social sciences also see a high enrolment percentage from women – courses such as psychology, sociology, criminology, geography, law, history and anthropology tend to be more balanced in terms of female to male enrolment ratios. This may be largely due to the fact that there are many diverse career paths included in social science programs; social science students learn an extensive range of skills that can be transferred to a variety of professions that may not necessarily be connected to their chosen degree subject. As a result, these degree program choices are often popular amongst students who are still not sure about their future career path and want to make sure that they obtain a qualification that provides them with a variety of transferable skills.

STEM subjects are still at the bottom of the list when it comes to women in online education, but with more initiatives than ever to get women into IT, the amount of female enrolments onto programs offering these subjects is on the rise. Computing and coding have long been male-dominated fields, but in recent times, all of that is beginning to change. More educational institutions, learn-to-code platforms and workplaces are encouraging women to learn to code and improve their IT skills.

Women still make up the lowest percentage of enrolments on other science, technology, engineering and math online programs as these are fields that have been largely dominated by men even before online learning was possible. However, things are certainly changing for women in STEM – while the gender gap is not close to closing just yet, the number of women with increasing interest in these subjects is on the rise. This is due to several factors, including more initiatives to encourage women to get into STEM and more school campaigns to encourage young girls' interest in these. In the future, STEM will hopefully be more equal in terms of gender.

Online learning is a hugely popular option for both men and women looking to improve their career prospects. And it provides a massive level of flexibility for those who are hoping to get further up the career ladder but cannot avoid their family or work commitments. For many women, online learning is often bridging the gap between pursuing their education/ career and staying at home to raise a family – thanks to online programs, doing both is no longer an impossible option.