While the number of men’s colleges in the United States has dwindled to a mere 4, there are over 40 active and thriving women’s colleges. Looking at these numbers, one might ask why the difference is so large. What is it about a women’s college that has led to the current high number? Originally, most women’s colleges were established to give women education, usually to become teachers, that they were not allowed to seek at the men’s institutions. Now, however, 71% of female high school graduates are going on to attend college, compared to 61% of male high school graduates. Given this statistic, it is unsurprising that most coed colleges have a higher percentage of women than men attending. Even at Lewis and Clark, 61% of the students identify as female. If women are now not only allowed, but also encouraged to attend college at this point in time, and are doing so more often than men, then why are women-only colleges still thriving?
We can look critically at colleges as a social institution to explore the answer. As we have been studying categorical stratification, we talked a bit about gender stratification in the United States. A very common view is that women aren’t as smart or capable as men and, while caring and gentle, are still weak. Even when people do not explicitly hold these sexist views, there is no arguing against the fact of male privilege. In the workplace men are given more opportunities and earn more money than women. Similarly, in a classroom setting men tend to dominate discussions, especially when the professor is male. This echoes Williams’ article, “Still a Man’s World,” where male workers experienced slight favoritism from male administration. Similarly, studies have shown that female students feel more comfortable and participate more in classrooms with female professors. While most women’s colleges have both male and female professors, a classroom space where all of the women are students both combats any subconscious favoritism, and also provides a more comfortable and equal atmosphere for female students.
There are also certain fields that are fairly gendered, including most STEM fields. Math and Science tend to be seen as more masculine fields of knowledge, and therefore better fit for the “more capable” male students. In these fields, with a higher proportion of male students, women can feel excluded and discouraged from pursuing their interest in the field. Women’s colleges, as a social institution, create spaces of equality for women. At a women’s college, women are surrounded only by other women which allows for a more supportive and open environment in which to study. There is not a divide between genders in the classroom, with one gender dominating the discussion or experiencing any sort of favoritism. It is a level playing field where, especially in the male-dominated STEM fields, all women have equal opportunity and can feel included.
One might then wonder, if a single-sex institution does indeed provide an equal and inclusive environment for academics, why the number of men’s colleges is so small. However, most men already experience this inclusive environment at coed colleges, given their privilege. Multiple studies have been done showing that men speak about twice as often in class compared to women. In fact, studies have shown that when men and women speak the same amount in a group discussion, men perceive women as talking much more than the men. Men are also interrupted much less frequently when they speak than women. There has been little observed differences in men’s participation habits when in a coed space versus in an all-male space. This shows that a men’s college might not provide the same environment for a male student that a women’s college does for a female student. This, combined with the fact that a coed academic space is much more accessible to men, might explain when men’s colleges have disappeared over the years while women’s colleges have stayed abundant and successful.
- http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/html/icb.topic58474/krupnick.html
- http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/03/06/womens-college-enrollment-gains-leave-men-behind/
- http://www.hawaii.edu/eli/online/eli82/tannen.htm
- http://www.pbs.org/speak/speech/prejudice/women/
- Photo is from Wellesley College
The idea of women outperforming men got me thinking about some readings we did earlier in the semester, about how boys grow up learning to push boundaries (Becoming Male) and about how social institutions, such as school, teach us how to behave (Kindergarten as Academic Bootcamp). Boys are raised with the expectation that they will be rowdy and rambunctious, which is at odds with how our education system is structured. This system is much more inclined towards sitting still and listening well, two traits often stereotypically attributed as important for females. This makes assimilation to a school environment much easier for women.
ReplyDelete"There is not a divide between genders in the classroom, with one gender dominating the discussion or experiencing any sort of favoritism." This line stuck out at me for some reason, because it seems like this is the justification for having gendered institutions, male or female. I feel like this is an odd solution to a problem, and that cannot be easily applied to contexts outside of education to a great extent, at least in the United States. By limiting or expelling a perceived problem in such an extreme way seems unsustainable and closed minded. If we took expanded this form of problem solving outside of just gender, into other categorizing labels and exclude those people based on it, has historically been problematic.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Molly about the idea that the way our educational system is designed has certain aspects of it that make it more beneficial to women because of our gendered shaped society.
ReplyDelete