Higher education was designed for men in colonial America. Since the 1800s women's positions and opportunities in the educational sphere have increased. Since the late 1970s and early 1980s, women have surpassed men in number of bachelor's degrees and master's degrees conferred annually in the United States and women have continuously been the growing majority ever since, making men a continuously shrinking minority to earn either degrees. The same asymmetry has occurred with Doctorate degrees since 2005 with women being the continuously growing majority and men a continuously shrinking minority.