Wednesday, February 10, 2010
As recently as 1978, women were banned from enrollment in certain colleges. Now, women’s lead in enrollment over men has capped out at 57 percent. In students 25 and older, the gap has settled at even more drastic ratio: two women to one man.
However, a recent study by the American Council on Education shows that the gender gap in college has stopped growing, the only exception being with Hispanic students. There are a lot of theories as to why the gap has plateaued.
It's possible that supply and demand has as much influence on gender roles as it does on Wall Street. During World War II, women rushed to fill the empty jobs left by so many enlisted men. Now, with the recession limiting employment, many men are returning to school in a similar surge.
But why did the gap get so big in the first place, especially in older students?
Are women just "brainier"? While women and men tend to have different aptitudes, there's nothing showing that one sex is smarter than the other.
What about the feminist movement? More women are putting off raising families to focus on their careers. But considering that the population ratio of men to women is fairly even, that should just put women's enrollment at the same rate as men.
That is, if they had to work the same amount as men to reach the same goals.
One of the possible reasons that so few men over the age of 25 go back to school is that men consistently get paid more for their work. Before the Equal Pay Act was passed in 1963, women made half the pay of men.
Today, regardless of the job, women still earn an average of 30 percent less than men. There is less incentive for a man at Job A to take off from work and go after further qualifications than there is for a woman at Job A. Basically, women have to rack up the credentials for Job B to get the same pay that a man is getting for Job A.
It’s ironic that an inequality in the workplace is creating an inverse inequality in the classroom. I experienced the result of this first hand in my honors proseminar class, where all but one student was female. The class was enjoyable, but as a women’s literature class, certain discussions were definitely one-sided. I felt I could have gained more if so many of us hadn’t been white 20-something females.
Many countries with similar problems have talked of Affirmative Action-like quotas for gender equality in schools and businesses. I’m not sure if quotas are the proper response or not; perhaps making gender-study classes a graduation requirement would raise awareness enough to make a difference.
Whatever action is taken, it’s clear that something has to be done to even out the gender gap. It creates a rushed, have-to-achieve-it-all mentality for women post-graduation, and it deprives students of a properly rounded education just as much as racial inequality does.
— Lytton is a senior from Kodiak, Alaska, in creative writing.
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Comments
Lytton: Gender inequality stunts chances for academic growth
This article reflects less about the type of job someone may be performing and more about the person doing the hiring. What's to say a man hiring a woman who may have no previous qualifications for Job A to a man who has earned a degree for Job A? The employer is seeking to get laid, not work. But oh no, that's not sexist, that's progressive.
Lytton: Gender inequality stunts chances for academic growth
so.............are you trying to say men are disadvantaged since there are more women in college or what........
women make less money than men because they do easier jobs....plain and simple. women are more prevalent in nursing, teaching, child care>all lower paying jobs.
men are more prevalent as doctors, dentists, engineers, financial managers> all higher paying jobs.
I'm tired of this feminist bullcrap.
Lytton: Gender inequality stunts chances for academic growth
I do not accept these magical feminist statistics about the fantom 30% women don't make for the 'same' work men do. If you don't quote some sources, these statistics are worthness. If there are any women who discover their bosses make a little -30% conversion on their paychecks each month...well, that is what the Equal Pay Act is for. Use it to sue your employer and move on. By the way, our new chancellor must have been very happy to find out that KU wasn't going to pay her only 70% of Hemmingway's old salary!
Lytton: Gender inequality stunts chances for academic growth
Gotta love the conservative backlash here!
I'm inclined to agree with these 4 people who posted previous to me. I think we're at the point where women are making about as much as men in the fields they go into, but because of the fields most women choose to work in, they often times limit their potential income. I wouldn't go so far to say that the work women do is any easier than the work men do. Nursing is a pretty challenging field, and it pays pretty well, but obviously there aren't many women attracted to Engineering.
From an economics standpoint, this article has no ground. Obviously, if women were paid 30% less doing the same jobs men do, they would not have to go back to school. They would be employed full time, we probably wouldn't be in a recession right now, and there would be even more men than women in college. There's obviously other factors at work here.
Lytton: Gender inequality stunts chances for academic growth
If women were paid 30% less for the same jobs that men do, there would be no men in the workforce.
Lytton: Gender inequality stunts chances for academic growth
Blah, blah, blah, women don't realize how good they've got it, blah, blah, blah, men are the ones who are really being effected here... Get with the program here, we are not living in a post-feminism, post-sexism world and this article is right on. Keep up the good work, Melissa! (From one Kodiak Islander to another!)
Lytton: Gender inequality stunts chances for academic growth
No.
http://www.nber.org/papers/w11240
From the above article:
"Gender differences in schooling and cognitive skills as measured by the AFQT are quite small and explain little of the pay gap. Instead the gender gap largely stems from choices made by women and men concerning the amount of time and energy devoted to a career, as reflected in years of work experience, utilization of part-time work, and other workplace and job characteristics. "
Lytton: Gender inequality stunts chances for academic growth
Wow, the amount of sexism in this thread is absolutely appalling.
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