More women graduate. Gender gap could be incubating economic and social problems.

With their black gowns, square-top caps and wide smiles, the 800 seniors who graduated this month from Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts appeared to be a perfect slice of America. Not quite: A lot more of the graduates were women than men.This gender imbalance is present at most college graduations. More women than men apply to college in the first place. And once there, more women than men make it through.