Brenda J. Ortega

4 gender equalities that still exist with the higher academic world

College is a place filled with great educational opportunities for both male and female students. As a hopeful student myself, I once thought it offered a level playing field for both men and women to succeed. Sure, it’s been decades since the women’s movement started (I watch Bomb Girls with pride and inspiration), and because of pioneering women it’s easy to paint a picture of gender equality achieved in terms of student access, equity, and opportunity—for both men and women. Yes, we’ve come a long way my sisters, and higher-education statistics do show that the majority of college and university undergraduates are women, encompassing approximately 58 percent nationally, appear at the top of the honor roll more than men do. Plus, more women graduate college compared to their male counterparts. However, sadly with the great accomplishments come the old hurdles and discrimination that are more hidden today, but in actuality never really went away.

The fact is that hidden behind the walls of the college campus women still face the fear of sexual assault; harassment; financial fears associated with paying tuition, buying cheap textbooks and even paying back student debt; and future career hurdles that men don’t have to worry about. The false notion that women are not being as qualified to succeed follows a women, not men, from the college classroom and all the way into the professional world.