It only took 71 years, but as of this year, women now outnumber men among students at the Culinary Institute of America for the first time since the school opened in 1946.

According to the Huffington Post, female enrollment at one of the country’s most well-known culinary schools is 51.6 percent.

That number has taken more than 70 years to reach.

It began with one woman in the school's inaugural class of 50, then climbed slowly to more than 20 percent by 1980, more than 30 percent by 2000, and more than 40 percent by 2006.

In all, the school has graduated 49,000 chefs since it opened.

What has fueled the growth? Dr. Jackie Nealon, vice president of CIA, pointed to a number of factors. She noted, for example, that "women-owned food business is growing at a fast rate, which offers more and more opportunity for women to have a work-life balance."

She also suggested the influence of successful female restaurant role models—such as vegan food chain by CHLOE founders Chloe Coscarelli and Samantha Wasser—saying such successes have helped pave the way for younger aspiring chefs.

H/t: Huffington Post