An estimated one fifth of graduates of the colleges of osteopathic medicine (COMs) before 1910 were women. However, the proportion of women declined after 1900, so that by 1969, less than 3% of osteopathic medical students were women. Dramatic gains have been made in the past 25 years: for the 1993-1994 academic year, women made up 35% of all osteopathic medical students. Although these gains seem impressive, allopathic medical school enrollment comprised 40% women during the same academic year (5 percentage points higher than in osteopathic medical schools). Allopathic medical schools have had significantly more women enrolled every year between academic years 1969-1970 and 1993-1994. In academic year 1988-1989, allopathic medical schools already had an enrollment that consisted of 35% female students, a percentage that COMs would first reach 5 years later. Based on these findings, enrollment of women in COMs is 5 years and 5 percentage points behind that of allopathic medical schools.