Women and our education

I am about to graduate with a Masters degree. Two more weeks and I’m done! I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree about 15 years ago, but due to finances it took some time for me to finish school. Unfortunately, when I graduate I will have a substantial school loan to pay back and the sad part is that two-thirds of my loan went towards daycare for my son. It cost more for him to go to daycare than for me to get a Master’s degree at a state university. Go figure.....

Going back to school was difficult for a couple of reasons. First, I have a young son who demanded a lot of attention. It was often difficult to juggle the schedule, even with the support of a husband and two sisters living close by. Second, I was 39 when I started and I had been out of school for a long time. It was difficult to read, study, and write papers after years off from that routine. But once I started, I realized that the majority of my classmates were parents and that many of the younger students worked full-time while attending school. Some had kids and worked and went to class! We all had a lot on our plates. Also, technology has made research so much easier! I didn’t have to be at the library to do research or use a copier like the old days. I could go online at 2am if I needed and download articles in PDF. That was handy.

Data shows that for the past two decades, women have been graduating from college at higher rates than their male peers. Back in 1972, when I was just a little girl, the U.S. Department of Education passed Title IX, which intended to even out gender inequality in schools. With these and other actions to increase female enrollment, graduation rates of men and women were similar in the early 1980s. From this time forward, women started to catch up with men in college graduation rates. As of 2004, in the U.S., 58 percent of all bachelor's degrees were earned by women in the United States. Black and Hispanic women now earn an amazing 67 percent and 61 percent of all bachelor's degrees in their racial group. 57 percent of degrees awarded to whites are earned by women, and 52 percent of undergraduate degrees awarded to Asians are awarded to women. Despite gains in education, we still earn less due to gender, racial, and family status discrimination.

Nonetheless, I am so proud of myself and women (young and old, mothers or single, working or non) for taking steps to pave a better path for themselves through education. What about you? Did you go to college or are you in school now? What kinds of challenges have you faced as a student? Did you graduate? If not, what were the barriers and would you like to return? Share your challenges and accomplishments.