Sexism in the field of education is a force that has continuously oppressed female students and faculty. This sexism leads to further oppression in the job market as well.
According to its website, the CSULB Women’s Studies Department is focused on “the reexamination of traditional ideas about women and men in cultures characterized by patterns of gender role stereotyping.”
A Chicago Sun-Times article, “Women outpacing men by degrees,” reported that “one-third of women ages 25 to 29 have college degrees … but just over a quarter of men that age earned degrees.” Even with these statistics, women receiving an education in women’s studies are not gaining the type of respect they deserve.
Equity is a major issue facing women in the United States. There is still a significantly large pay gap between men and women. Education does not seem to be closing the gap quickly enough, but it is proving to be the only way to earn equal pay.
In 2007, Harvard University finally named Drew Gilpin Faust its first woman president. Faust was given the challenge of recruiting and promoting Harvard women. According to National Public Radio, 75 percent of the tenured and tenure-track faculty at Harvard are men. The same article reports, “only nine of the Fortune 500 companies are headed by women.”
According to the 2006 CSULB statistics, the percentage of women students is 60 percent, while the percentage of women faculty is only 44 percent. The lack of female representation in the academic world is disgraceful.
Thankfully, many universities offer a degree of some sort in women’s studies. CSULB’s Women’s Studies Department provides a comprehensive education in women’s issues regarding race and gender on a global scale. This kind of knowledge is absolutely crucial to a stable and well-rounded education, because it provides insight into issues that are often ignored.
CSULB does not offer a master’s degree or higher in women’s studies. The women’s studies department seems to be overlooked and underappreciated, rather than valued by the university.
In fact, according to the University of California, Santa Barbara Women’s Studies website, only UCLA, San Diego State and San Francisco State offer advanced degrees in women’s Ssudies. No universities in the CSU system offer degrees above a bachelor’s unless they mandate a concentration in religion or spirituality
Female students not only have to combat sexism in the classroom, but also in the workplace. Earning a degree in women’s studies can provide the tools to tackle that kind of systemic oppression. However, with no higher degrees in women’s studies available at our university, credibility is lost. This is extremely negligent because it cripples students later in life.
The American educational system is traditionally structured as a patriarchy practically in all departments. Tearing down that structure requires a very strong women’s studies program that’s robustly supported by the university.
Wandie Kabule is a junior journalism major and a contributing writer for the Daily Forty-Niner.
