Is The College Environment Unfriendly To Women?
Written by Craig Rogers, Posted on , in Section Inspirational
A recent study conducted by the University of Colorado at Boulder found that there were a number of problems with sexism in departments of their college. The study went on to conclude that the overall environment in many of these departments was unfriendly towards women in general and pushing them out of certain areas of study. A number of people have been surprised that this is still a problem in our universities, believing that the era of discrimination against women is over. With this in mind we must ask ourselves, why are women still being treated poorly in our colleges.
Why Is Sexism Still A Part Of Academics?
One could come up with a number of different explanations for the sexism that exists in many colleges and universities, but ultimately it boils down to the impact of our culture on our educational resources. It is only relatively recently in our history that we have started trying to bring about equality in the workplace and a number of sexist attitudes still exist. These beliefs cause girls to be discouraged from focusing on areas of study like math, science, and engineering. Because these are often viewed as the most important and difficult disciplines, the lack of women in these programs translates into an overall disdain for the ability of women to prosper in the academic environment.
Pushing Women Out Of College Programs Will Hurt Us All
Other than the inherent issues with fairness that the current sexism in academics presents, there are a number of reasons that it is important to address this problem. Perhaps the most important of these is the fact that limiting the amount of women receiving college degrees will harm our international competitiveness. If we fail to give women equal opportunity to advance in academics, then we are not taking advantage of the full potential of our population. Over time, this will cause us to fall behind other nations that don't make the same mistake. To address this, we must overcome this culture of sexism that has taken root in many of our universities.
