So much for the end of men

NPR has a story on the college payoff, showing that while students pay much more for a college education in the U.S. than they do in most other countries, they also get a bigger return on their investment.  But for me the big story is the enormous gender difference in that payoff.  Wow!  There continues to be a huge premium for maleness across the globe, but it is striking indeed how much more being male in America gets you:

And what explains why college costs more for women in the U.S., Germany, and Canada?  It can't be a base price differential along gender lines, I would think (lawsuit, anyone?), so is it that men are given more scholarships?

The story points us to this study from Indiana University with more detail on the gender gap, including this chart showing that women must obtain associate's degrees to match the salary levels of men with high school degrees:  

I can't see how this information in any way squares with the notion that women are pulling ahead of men.