If Girls Go to College to Get More Knowledge, Why Do Boys Go to Jupiter?
On April 12, 2006, a day that will live in infamy (I turned 39 plus a year that day), the Economist released an interesting study showing that women may soon begin to out earn men:
Girls get better grades at school than boys, and in most developed countries more women than men go to university. Women will thus be better equipped for the new jobs of the 21st century, in which brains count a lot more than brawn. In Britain far more women than men are now training to become doctors. And women are more likely to provide sound advice on investing their parents' nest egg: surveys show that women consistently achieve higher financial returns than men do.
As the father of an almost seven year old girl, I'm thrilled. As a father of two older boys, I'm even more thrilled. As one of the owners of CollegeRecruiter.com, I'm ecstatic. As a male feminist, well, you get the idea.
For thousands of years, women have been forced to take the backseat to men in far too many ways and for far too many reasons. Employers who have struggled to find enough qualified talent should also rejoice, for a better educated female workforce will increase the quantity and quality of talent available to those employers. In the words of my seven year old, "You go girl!"
I'm like your daughter, except Im 23. I have two older brothers and proud parents. I dont know if Id call my dad a "male feminist", but I think he comes close.
Although Im inspired by the statistics that girls get better grades and that more women now go to university, I am cautious about being ecstatic for the following reasons:
1. While advanced degrees may be a good indicator of future wealth, better grades does not necessarily translate to higher income or greater career success.
2. Until the infrastructure for flexible work options become widely available, women who are both educated and talented but desire more out of
life may not pursue or worse yet, be denied opportunities during childbearing years.
YUP!!! This certainly was not new news for me. I always knew women were better communicators, writers, researchers, and stable employees. It really does not surprise me that more women do far better in college than men. When I was teaching high school honors English, it was extremely evident who could write, read, and had persistence…Bravo Ladies!
The Punk Rock PhD
Lisa Marie