The Struggles Women Face Entering or Re-entering College
Researching this topic, I came across many articles and journals that described hardship for women in the attempt to obtain a higher education. The challenges I found that women faced entering or re-entering college are gender bias, financial, and even violence on campus. I found that women faced many challenges while entering or re-entering college such as gender bias, financial, and even violence on campus. Gender bias on campus has been shown to lead to low-esteem and therefore lower retention rates and higher drop-out rates for women in college. In order to preserve the success of women today and for future generations all colleges need to identify gender bias and provide programs for women struggling academically, financially and emotionally.
Stereo-typing often starts in adolescence: young girls are taught to play with dolls and to remain soft and dainty, while boys play with trucks and action figures and are supposed to grow up tough and strong. Primarily, bias is the stereo-typing relating to school subjects like math, technology and science; the STEM categories. The bias that pertains to these subjects are that males think more logically, and as such, girls are not supposed to be "good" at math or science. Studies have shown that students that fall behind in remedial classes like math and science have a higher drop-out rate if mentoring and peer influence sessions were not offered or made readily available in the first year of college. The lack of females in the STEM fields can also be a deterrent to women looking to educate themselves in math and sciences as well as engineering, "as of 2011 only one in seven engineers is female, additionally women have seen no employment growth in STEM jobs since 2000".(5.)
Evidence shows that gender-bias and sexism in higher education campuses allows for barriers, currently in the United States, women earn almost sixty percent of all bachelor's degrees, but women are underrepresented in higher education positions such as professors, deans and presidents of colleges. (2)There is a lack of female professors and women only hold twenty-four percent of full professor positions compared to men. This has been shown to have a direct effect on female students. The influence of female professors often times has more importance than that provided by their friends during college years, and the involvement of same-sex mentors helped provide and encourage self-worth.
Counselors, especially a female counseling a female student is trained to recognize behaviors and some use Behavioral Cognitive Therapy. This works with individuals to help solve problems and change negative thinking and behavior. Women in domestic abuse situations, victims of assault even everyday problems like raising a family and trying to educate themselves, college counselors are supposed to be there to help, to probe and find out what the issues are to keep a student in school and to see the student through to graduation. College counselors will also aid in filling out job applications, doing a mock job interview and teaching work ethics, all of these little tasks that a college counselor can do will not only help first generation students stay in school but to be able to handle the everyday problems that life will throw at them. This is especially true for women over the age of 25 entering college for the first time, the majority of women at this age have children, families and either full or part-time jobs. Struggling with time management of school-work balance, lack of interest in remedial classes and the lack of support from friends or family members cause drop-out rates to rise. However, not all colleges have this information readily available even though all colleges have counselors on staff and some community colleges do not employ enough to keep track of their students, especially the ones that are failing and according to the Association for College Admission Counseling, the average counselor has five-hundred students!
There are many ways that a woman's education can have a financial impact not only in her personal and family life but within society. The financial impact comes in many forms from rising out of poverty to CEOs of major corporations, both these things bring a change to society.
Statistics show that women that have attained a higher education degree tend to be less obese, have a lower drug and alcoholism rate and whose children have a higher rate of attaining a degree, being less obese and have fewer problems in school. Women with only a high school degree earn up to fifteen hundred less a month than a women with a two year degree with child care costs rising and smaller amounts of full time positions available, women find themselves in the unemployment line, this can lead to dependence on state welfare programs, as well as alcohol and drug dependency." Alcohol abuse in women is at three percent when only a high school education is attained but it decreases as the level of education rises". The financial cost of going to school plays a role in women not attending or dropping out of college, the average student loan debt is $35,000, this is more than most people make in a year, with other bills, car and credit payment this only exacerbates the problem. There are many, many more opportunities for women than ever before, the 21st century saw its first female nominated for President by a major political party, the first female Brigadier General, and there was the first female hired to coach a men's football team, however, when women do graduate, find a good job and start to pay back loans the pay gap comes into play, women earn seventy-two cents to every dollar a man makes this is why one of the best indicators of poverty is family structure, single or divorced women make less, this is what sociologists call the feminization of poverty( Opposing viewpoints from the Rio Salado library database has an article that talks about holding for- profit colleges accountable, the article talked about for-profit colleges granting degrees that are less respectable to show that the college has a high graduation rate, these degrees have a lower rate of employment which in turn students cannot pay off the school loan because they cannot find a job, even with a degree. This is another challenge lower income women face when picking a school, the sales tactics are fierce and quotas are set for counselors at for-profit colleges, to hold these colleges accountable, and stop funding to these colleges with a high default rate on loans, allows for employment and lower student drop-out rates.(
Corporations are also guilty of gender-bias even though studies have found that companies that employ women on their board of directors have fewer lawsuits in embezzlement and fraud, have a more diverse workforce, better economic growth and are more socially responsible. In spite of the positive aspects to having a diverse board of director's, women occupy only four-five percent of CEO positions and less than twenty-five percent of executive and senior level positions. The lack of female CEOs can be attributed to once again lack of female mentors, a catch twenty two so to speak, then women find themselves the only female in the 'good old boy club'. The absence of diversity in the workplace leads to complacency and stagnation, it can also breed bigotry and unintentional discrimination because most people want to work with people they can relate to and bypass individuals that do not meet that criteria, which can lead to sexual harassment and gender -bias. Unfortunately, some women have been victims of sexual harassment even before their first job interview, it sometimes starts on their own college campus.
Sexual violence on college campuses is prevalent, the reason that we now have statistics on the violence is because of the Clery Act, passed in 1990, the Clery Act was named after Jeanne Clery who was raped and murdered by a fellow student four years prior to the Clery Act being championed by her parents. The Clery Act requires all colleges both private and public to disclose information about crime on or near their campuses, the Clery Act has also been updated concerning the handling of sexual violence on campus that includes domestic and dating violence as well as stalking. Before 1990 colleges had resources but not to the degree that the Clery Center provides like resources for families and students as they look for colleges to attend, promoting awareness of the dangers of abusive relationships as well as empowering men to help prevent and stop the cycle of violence. Before 1990 these resources did exist but not to this extent, research was done but limited internally and not made public.(CleryAct,1990)
The Clery Act shows us statistics but lest we forget the emotional toll a victim goes through, it encompasses one's life and will take its toll on their academic performance. In the Journal of Counseling Psychology, there is a study dedicated to the GPA performance of a victim after an assault, the article also takes into consideration past sexual violence and how any occurrence of a non -consenting sexual act has been shown to lead to a lower GPA in college. Unfortunately, survivors do not report because they feel embarrassed, fear of retaliation or they were not sure what really happened to them, gender-bias is not biology it is cultural and the perception of sexual assault between man and women differ but it should not be- the definition of assault should not change because of gender and colleges should define that to students to be clear and precise. The silver lining is that the more counseling that is sought the GPA goes up and the retention rate for colleges does go up, but it first needs to be reported and taken seriously by college administrators. I conducted two email interviews and one in-person interview to get a three generational view of college life in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The questions pertained to literature that was distributed by colleges that warned of either sexual violence or resources given by the colleges themselves. In all three interviews neither interviewee was given this literature at registration for that school nor did the colleges, (all three attended multiple, community and university) attempt to publicly address any issues concerning sexual violence on their campus. The lack of technology in the 1970s and 1980s did make it a challenge for any college to reach all its students, but literature should be included in all new student packets upon entering college. I also asked about gender-bias in college, the interviewee that was in medical school in the 1980s told a story about a women that was a retired nurse did not want her to do the examination because she not trust female doctors. This interviewee also stated that stalking, sexual harassment was not discussed among students and professors and that she only heard of gender-bias from friends. All the women I interviewed said they had good experiences in college, were not subject to any sexual violence and were not victims of gender-bias until they graduated and started working in the respective fields.
Community colleges and Universities are now partnering with government programs, local charities, domestic and homeless shelters to provide needed help to low-income individuals and students. The internet is a useful tool in finding information and most libraries and shelters have free internet access to those who need it. Elementary and high schools are starting to recognize violence and bullying as well as hazing as a real problem and are addressing them the best way they know how, unfortunately bullying and hazing is difficult to stop because the internet is so fast and information can be shared within seconds to hundreds of students.
Conclusion
The benefit of a college education can be measured financially-but the take away socially and emotionally is immeasurable. Colleges and society have a long way to go in the treatment of women. Gender-bias needs to be addressed early in a child's life, schools need to teach gender-bias classes in grade school so everyone understands what it is and what negative effects biases can have throughout a child's life.
Self-esteem and identity is crucial for women, finding the right balance between "roles", mothers, wives, homemaker etc. I hope in no way my paper reflects that women are victims, but rather to inform and educate. The research done on gender bias has been done by men and women, with the same conclusion, we as a society are more diverse, inclusive and understanding than any other generations before us, but we have work to do. The pay gap is an indicator that gender bias exists throughout corporate America, politics and higher education, the pay gap needs to close for everyone to succeed, feel equal and be free of bias.
Combating stereotypes will lead to a better understanding of why there is a gender bias in the first place, when teachers recognize that a young women is good at STEM subjects they need to encourage and empower them. Breaking the glass ceiling, paying women the same as their male counterparts and colleges being responsible for reporting violence on their campuses is a start. . Despite the pay-gap, less female mentors, less women in high paying fields like STEM as well as the glass ceiling the benefits to going to college still outweigh the negatives for women and bring to a close the cycle of violence against women, this takes more than just families and friends it takes a community.
Domestic violence shelters- domesticshelters.org
National Sexual Assault Hotline-1-800-656-4673
National Suicide Prevention Hotline-1-800-273-8255
WORKS CITED
1. Baker, Majel R., et al. "Sexual victimization History Predicts Academic Performance in College Women." Journal of Counseling Psychology
2. Chisholm-Burns, Marie A., et al. "Women in Leadership and the Bewildering Glass Ceiling." American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy
3. Fischer, Ann R. and Glenn E. Good. "Gender, Self, and Others: Perceptions of the Campus Environment." Journal of Counseling Psychology
4. Gasman, Marybeth. "Holding For-Profit Colleges More Accountable Helps Low-Income Students." Student Loans, edited by Dedria Bryfonski, Greenhaven Press
5. Huhman, Heather,:"STEM fields and the gender gap:where are the women" Work in progress,B.C .Forbes Publishing
6. Leonhardt, David. "Is College Worth It? Clearly Yes, New Data Says." New York Times, 27 May 2014, p. A3(L). Opposing Viewpoints in Context
7. Skinner, Julia and Melissa Gross. "The ISSAS Model: Understanding the Information Needs of Sexual Assault Survivors on College Campuses." College & Research Libraries