Women's Education in the United States of America

The history of women's education in the United States can be traced back to dame schools and teacher training centers founded for women in the 1700s. Historically, women were required to seek careers in teaching, nursing, secretarial studies, or general caregiving. However, since the 1970s, major occupational shifts have been noted (Madigan 11). The inclusion of Title IV in the Education Amendment Act of 1972 sparked a change in women's career choices. The new Act strengthened women's participation in higher education by making gender discrimination illegal. The Women's Educational Equality Act was passed by the US government in the following years. Nonetheless, it is worthy to note that it took more time for the education system to embrace female students; an indication that the policy shifts by the US government were not efficient at first. For instance, studies conducted in the 1980s and 1990s noted that traditional practices regarding the discrimination of women were still prevalent in the US educational sector. It was pointed out that tutors gave women less attention compared to men. Besides, the tutors were less likely to respond to issues raised by female students in the coeducational settings (Madigan 11).

Given the fact that the Educational Amendment Act of 1972 and the WEE Act of 1974 had not yielded the desired outcomes, more policy changes were needed to enhance gender equality in the US educational system. In 2002, the US government adopted the No Child Left Behind policy; additional changes in federal regulations were implemented in 2006. The new strategies included the lifting of restrictions associated with the establishment of single-sex educational institutions. Such measures were informed by empirical evidence which indicated that single-sex educational institutions would facilitate the uptake of higher education among women, especially in regions with high levels of poverty (U.S. Department of Education).

Women Education: Current Status and Historical Context

In the 19th and early 20th century when women had fewer levels of education, early marriages were common in the society and women were expected to develop their identity in the marriage setting. However, the reverse is true today. Therefore, it was deduced that education transformed women from passive to active participants in the social scheme of things (Goldin 2). Goldin posits that the empowerment of women through education progressed in four phases. The first phase began in the late 1800s to 1920s, while phase two began in the 1930s and ended in the 1950s. The economic revolution among women emerged in the third phase (starting from the 1950s to 1970s). The silent revolution was initiated in the 1970s to the present day.

Starting from the mid-1900s to the present day, there has been a boom in the number of women seeking higher education. The growth was more significant in developed countries where women had better access to educational opportunities. A case in point, between 1970 and 2010 the proportion of the general population with a higher education grew from 12 to 27 percent in the 30-34 age group (Becker, Hubbard, and Murphy 203). Becker et al. (2010, 203) noted that the educational boom experienced in developed countries such as the US was driven by the quest for higher education among women. A case in point, in the 1970s the ratio of male graduates to female graduates in the US was 3:2; presently, the proportion of male graduates to female graduates is 2:3. In the same period, the rate of completion of studies among women increased by 22 percent (DiPrete and Buchmann 3). Besides, the educational boom among women was not unique to developed countries. The trend was observed in 67 countries across all continents with different levels of economic growth (Becker, Hubbard, and Murphy) 204.

The higher rates of education among women enabled them to take up positions of influence in the society. Besides, the economic empowerment of women through education and consequently employment had a positive impact on the labor market in the US (Goldin 1). However, financial empowerment of women in the US was a gradual process that evolved. The revolution was first marked by a quiet phase which later paved the way to the revolutionary phase. The progressive empowerment of women enhanced their individuality; women began to find fulfillment in their careers and occupations compared to taking care of the family. The economic empowerment enabled women to have a stake in the social decision-making process. For instance, educated women had more leverage in deciding whether they wanted to get married or remain single; bear children or remain childless (Goldin 1). Therefore, it was deduced that the educational revolution in the US caused women to shift from a “static to a dynamic decision making” process. The new dynamics included fundamental shifts in what drove women to seek employment in the first place. Traditionally, women sought employment primarily out of the need to fulfill their financial obligations. However, in the present day, women are seeking employment out of the need to define their social worth and personal identity (Goldin 2). Therefore, it was noted that continued education of women had shifted the drivers for employment from basic paychecks to the need for personal fulfillment.

However, in spite of the commendable progress made so far in the emancipation of women through education, men and women are still not treated as equals in the society. Diprete and Buchman noted that there are significant disparities between the men and women in similar occupations. For instance, it was noted that male college graduates were poised to earn more compared to female college graduates despite the fact that they had same skills and education (DiPrete and Buchmann 3). Nonetheless, commendable progress has been made in bridging the pay gap compared to the 20th century. For instance, in the late 20th century, women earned two-thirds of what men earned per dollar. In 2011, it was noted that women earned 82 cents for each dollar earned by their male counterparts (DiPrete and Buchmann 3). Given that most companies had adopted a remuneration scheme based on productivity and credentials rather than gender, women began to earn more than men. Presently, highly educated women are earning more compared to less educated men. However, there was a four percent difference between men and women with similar academic background and work experience (DiPrete and Buchmann 3).

Differences in the Women’s Education: Currently and in the 1900s

In the early 20th century, discrimination against women was rife in the society. The role of women in the society at the time was relegated to procreation and looking after the needs of the family. In fact, the male chauvinistic society advanced the notion that the primary role of women was to give birth and raise children. However, such forms of discrimination were gradually resisted by women in the US buoyed by the growth of the feminist movement in Europe. Nonetheless, the early 20th century was characterized by sustained suppression of women who were paid weekly wages by their husbands to take care of their families while those who were single sought jobs that would be of service to the society such as cooking or serving food at the restaurants. Such trends were informed by the fact that women were perceived to be naturally weak. Thus they could not handle labor-intensive occupations (Balanza). The state of women suffrage in the 1900s was further exacerbated by the fact that women did not have an independent legal status; their legal status was tied to their fathers or husbands. Besides, husbands had the power to restrict the movement of women outside the homestead (Balanza). Given the prevailing conditions at the time, it was deduced that female education was of little concern to the society.

The leading minds of the time reasoned that educating women would upset the social order in the society because women would become more powerful than men. Therefore, the lack of education and means for economic empowerment were some of the tools that were employed to ensure that women remained subordinate to the men. The maintenance of the status quo in the male chauvinist society was partly advanced by the US federal government which had limited women enrollment in the degree programs in state universities. The federal government lifted the restrictions in the late 19th century. However, only a few state-level universities admitted women into the undergraduate programs. Given that women were unwelcome in most of the state universities, private universities such as Bryn Mawr and Mount Holyoke were established to serve female students in the US (Madigan 12). However, colleges and secondary schools remained as coeducational. The alienation of women from the educational system was prevalent in both white-dominated societies and African American societies. However, the civil rights campaigns of the mid 20th century were instrumental in facilitating the enrolment of African American girls and women in school. For instance, the abolition of racially based discrimination in the educational system resulted in a 12 and 60 percent increase in the number of African Americans who completed high school and college education, respectively (Thomas and Jackson 365).

Thomas and Jackson (359) noted that African Americans were more concerned with the underperformance of boys in school compared to girls. The society’s focus on boy’s education at the expense of girls was informed by the fact that less educated African American men were more likely to engage in crime and less likely to obtain meaningful employment compared to girls. However, such an approach was found to be ill-informed because the PK-12 educational system was only focused on the challenges facing the boy child. Considering that less attention is given to girls education, challenges facing female students could have remained unnoticed thus impeding their productivity in school. Nonetheless, recent statistics (in college enrolment and completion of studies) indicated that African American women were more educated compared to men (Thomas and Jackson 367).

Women who pursued an education in the early to mid 20th century had less likelihood of ever getting married compared to illiterate women. Male avoidance of educated women was informed by both misinformation and empirical evidence. For instance, educated women were more independent (Goldin 22) – a quality that was misconstrued as insubordination to male authority. Besides, about one-third of the college-educated women at the time referred not to give birth thus reducing their appeal to a progeny-centric male population. Given the incompatibility between female education and social expectations, most women who enrolled for college education dropped out after marriage (DiPrete and Buchmann 3). Kristof and WuDunn argued that women were still treated as slaves in the 21st century despite the progress in civilization and enlightenment. Drawing on a history of documented evidence such as the acid attacks in Asia, mistreatment of women who were not virgins (Kristof and WuDunn 92), and alienation of women engaging in prostitution while men were glorified for similar acts was an indication that more needed to be done to enhance gender parity.

The empowerment of women through education increased the proportion of women who enrolled in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. However, the levels of representation were not sufficient. A case in point, the number of women in the STEM was 24 percent; while the proportion of women in the general workforce was 48 percent. Given the low levels of women representaton in the STEM, further policy changes in the US educational system were needed to improve the level of women representation in the STEM fields, primarily because the level of underrepresentation has persisted for a long duration (Beede et al. 2).

Benefits Associated with Women Education

It is worthy to note that women education in the US enhanced productivity at the workplace because the pay structure was no longer based on the masculinity and male sexual characteristics but productivity. Besides, learning enabled women to be more responsible in the society and themselves as well. Responsibility, in this case, encompassed various facets such as reproduction, financial autonomy, and birth control. Goldin (14) argues that the emergence of the pill was instrumental in enabling women to focus on their education because it eliminated the need for early marriages. Similar benefits were derived from women empowerment through education in Niger and Ethiopia (Muller 85). Women education among minority groups had helped to the bridge the racial divide considering that economic disenfranchisement was one of the factors that advanced racism and crime in African American neighborhoods.

Conclusion

In light of the information presented in the preceding sections, it was deduced that the privileges enjoyed by women in education and employment were earned through a generational struggle that pitted women against a male chauvinist society. However, the restrictions imposed on the women were lifted with time; nonetheless, women were expected to enroll in specific educational programs such as nursing, teaching and secretarial studies. However, the policy changes made by the US government helped to bridge the gap. The policy changes catalyzed the revolution of a woman’s place in the society from a passive actor to an active participant. Besides, the educated women were economically empowered and in control of their individuality. Other benefits associated with women education included the better economic inclusion of previously marginalized minority groups such as African Americans.



Works Cited

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Becker, Gary S, William H J Hubbard, and Kevin M Murphy. “Explaining the Worldwide Boom in Higher Education of Women Explaining the Worldwide Boom in Higher Education of Women.” Journal of Human Capital no. 4, vol. 3, 2010, pp. 203–241.

Beede, David N. Julian, Tiffany A. Langdon, David McKittrick, George Khan, Beethika

Doms, Mark E. “Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2011, pp. 1–11.

DiPrete, Thomas A., and Claudia Buchmann. THE RISE OF WOMEN: The Growing Gender Gap in Education and What It Means for American Schools. 2013, pp. 1-5

Goldin, Claudia. “The Quiet Revolution That Transformed Women ’ S Employment , Education , and Family.” The American Economic Review, vol. 96, no. 2, 2006, pp. 1–21.

Kristof, Nicholas D, and Sheryl WuDunn. “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide”. 2011, pp. 1–290.

Madigan, Jennifer C. “The Education of Girls and Women in the United States: A Historical Perspective.” Advances in Gender and Education, vol. 1, 2009, pp. 11–13.

Muller, Tanja. Gender, Education and Development: Beyond Access to Empowerment. Ed. Christine Heward and Sheila Bunwaree. Pelgrave Macmillan, 1999, pp. 1-223.

Thomas, Veronica G, and Janine A Jackson. “The Education of African American Girls and Women: Past to Present.” The Journal of Negro Education, vol. 76, no. 3, 2007, pp. 357–372.

U.S. Department of Education. Early Implementation of Public Single-Sex Schools: Perceptions and Characteristics, 2008, https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/other/single-sex/characteristics/index.html. Accessed 10 Nov. 2017.