I recently came across this article written in June of 2024 and every time I read something like this my heart breaks. Well first it palpitates, then my blood starts pumping and the rage feelings creep in. I also start to doubt if I am doing enough. And I am over it. I am over myself. But I have a daughter and I have a community that I cannot stop advocating for. Read these summarized statistics from the NPR article titled “While women outnumber men on campus, their later earnings remain stuck”
Summarized statistics about women in higher education and the workforce:
- College Enrollment: Women now make up close to 60% of college students, and they are 7 percentage points more likely to graduate than men.
- Graduation Rates: Women who go to college are 7 percentage points more likely than men to graduate.
- Workplace Earnings: Despite higher educational attainment, women still earn 82 cents for every dollar earned by men, a figure nearly unchanged since 2002.
Leadership Positions: The proportion of women in top management positions declined last year to less than 12%. - Professor Positions: Women make up a little more than a third of full professors.
College Presidents: A third of college presidents are women. - STEM Fields: Fewer than a quarter of engineering majors and fewer than half of business majors nationwide are women.
- Career Advancement: For every 100 men promoted to management positions in companies, only 87 women are promoted.
- Senior Management: 75% of senior management jobs are held by men.
These statistics paint a picture of increasing female participation in higher education, but persistent challenges in achieving equal representation and pay in the workforce, particularly in leadership roles and traditionally male-dominated fields. And it sucks to continue to see no movement made. We have to do better. And the “We” is collective. Men have to champion women. Women have to champion other women. We have a real opportunity to affect change. I do believe it is possible and that is why even though I am over it I will still continue to push.
This isn’t comfortable for me. I do not think I am doing enough. But as Demi Moore said…“In those moments when we don’t think we’re smart enough or pretty enough or skinny enough or successful enough, or basically just not enough, I had a woman say to me, just know you will never be enough, but you can know the value of your worth if you just put down a measuring stick,”. So the measuring stick is down. I am going to push until I see some change. Enough is enough.
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