Gender Inequity in Education

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For years, females have been marginalized by American society. Until 1920, they could not participate fully in the so-called democratic organization of this country by way of voting, and even then, it was considered "improper" for females to be involved or interested in politics. In years past, females were discouraged from entering certain professions, as the general consensus was that jobs that required intense levels of higher training were "male-only" jobs. Similarly, the place for females was considered to be at home taking care of the children, rather than attending university or going to work. Today, however, things are different. The outlook for the future is much brighter. Females can pursue any career they choose. They are given equal opportunities as males in work and in school, aren't they? After all, as David Sadker points out in "Gender Equity: Still Knocking at the Classroom Door," Ivy League schools such as Columbia University only began to admit women around 1980, and today most college students are women (22). It would seem that there is nothing to complain about, that the battle has been fought and won, and that anyone continuing to complain should simply be brushed aside as a rampant feminist looking for some aspect of society to criticize. We've come so far as a society from those days of blatant gender discrimination, haven't we? Isn't gender inequity a thing of the past?

Well, not quite. Yes, females are given many more opportunities today than they were in past years. However, gender discrimination, in its most subtle forms, continues to this very day. Inside the classroom, particularly in grade schools, a few teachers continue their biased ways, detracting from a learning environment that encourages a...

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Dever, Bridget. Personal Interview. 19 Nov. 2001.

Focus Group Interview. 27 Nov. 2001

Moses, Annie. Personal Interview. 20 Nov. 2001.

National Center for Education Statistics Web page. U.S. Department of Education. 29 Nov. 2001. http://nces.ed.gov.

Observation at St. Joseph's High School. 26 Nov. 2001, 28 Nov. 2001.

Pipher, Mary. Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls. New York: Ballantine Books, 1994.

Ravitch, Diane. "The Gender Bias Myth." Forbes 157.10 (1996): 168.

Sadker, Myra and David. Failing at Fairness: How Our Schools Cheat Girls. New York: Touchstone, 1994.

Sadker, David. "Gender Equity: Still Knocking at the Classroom Door." Educational Leadership 56.7 (1999): 22-6.

Schmurak, Carole B. Voices of Hope: Adolescent Girls at Single Sex and Coeducational Schools. New York: Peter Lang, 1998.

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