Intro

“It is ridiculous to tell girls to be quiet when they enter a new field, or an old one, so the men will not notice they are there. A girl should not expect special privileges, because of her sex, but neither should she “adjust” to prejudice and discrimination.” –Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique, 1963.

The 1960s were an exciting and tumultuous time for American women, and it was a time that women were breaking away from the societal expectations of what women should be.  This role was often referred to as the feminine mystique, or in other words, the assumed, submissive role that women were to play within the household.  1972 marked the year in which women were recognized as equal human citizens of the United States.  American culture has made much progress over the past fifty years, but there are still inequalities that women face today in academia and society.  More specifically, women in the university setting, whether they are faculty or students, still receive unequal recognition despite advances made as a result of the feminist movement.
In comparison to my initial research in regards to the women’s rights movement during the late 60s and early 70s, I shifted my focus to our current era and the issues surrounding feminism.  More specifically, I researched not only female students enrolled at universities, but also included women faculty and also adult women students, as they all bring a slightly different addition to my research of women in higher academia; I expanded my research to include the entire demographic of women in academia, rather than just the students.
Women in the education system of the United States have broken through multiple barriers in order to attain a level of gender equality in the classroom and in society.  Since the women’s rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s, young women are not only entering into “male dominant” fields, but also are surpassing the previous success of men.  There has been an overall change in the attitudes expressed towards women excelling in higher education, both as students and as faculty.  Further, there has been an overall support for the continuation of women establishing their equal status but fifty years later, there are still discrepancies in the opportunities offered to women.

Other points or questions I would have liked to include and do further research on:

•    Young college women choosing to follow concentrations in the Liberal Arts and Sciences rather than with Math, Life or Physical Sciences. It’s a valid argument that men and women have different interests, so they should not be forced into concentrations such as engineering.
•    Mature adult women return to college because they realize the opportunities they missed out on, and the potential to pursue something they always wanted.
•    Young women succeeding in academia to the extent that there have been allegations of women intimidating men to the point that they are “underachieving”.
•    Women in the academic workplace are still being treated unequally.  To what extent and why?
•    Change of attitude towards the traditional model of the “male breadwinner” and the change of roles within the family.
•    Why does a majority of the responsibility to enroll in and teach Women’s Studies courses falls with university women?
•    How much leverage does a university education hold for a woman entering the professional world and if she has the same degree as a competing male, why do women still get paid, on average, less than men?
•    The recent trend of anti-feminism, where women feel as if they are being forced to pursue a college career rather than a family and marriage because they should be “empowered” and “independent”.
•    Minority women are subjected to more inequalities that white women, so what are some ways that it has been easier/more difficult for minority women in academia (i.e. affirmative action, special scholarships, financial ability to afford an education).

Conclusion

In 21st century America, women have established themselves as independent, smart, and successful.  Women realize that they have the opportunities to pursue the careers they want and have most of the same opportunities as men.  They are excelling in higher academia at more rapid rates than their male counterparts, and have realized that a college degree creates a plethora of opportunities for a successful career and a better salary to support themselves and their families. Active women that consider themselves to be feminists are mostly younger, college aged women under twenty-five.  Women are continuing to fight for equal status and recognition in higher education, and although they have made significant progress over the past fifty years, female discrimination has taken a sort of turn, such that some feel that women have been given too many opportunities.  Women have shown dramatic increases in university enrollment and also in receiving college degrees.
There is, however, an anti-feminist sentiment that has been created over the years, insomuch that women want to be stay-at-home mom’s and devote their time to their families and raising their children.  Many opt to do this if they are in such a financial position, but the feminist argument is that a woman must be able to be self sufficient regardless of the stability of her marriage or family life.  Death, divorce, and unemployment are all unfortunate, and usually unplanned so a woman must be prepared for such things.  However, this is more of a reason to ensure that women have equal opportunities as men to pursue a higher education and secure a degree that does not confine women to the typical occupations of nurse, teacher, or secretary.  Thus, the women’s rights movement is an ongoing agenda that ensures women have as many opportunities as their male counterparts at the university level.  Knowledge is an empowering and valuable attribute that should be available to women everywhere in order to allow them a change at a happy, successful, and fulfilling life.

Working Bibliography

Aguirre, Adalberto, Jr., and Jr. , Adalberto Aguirre. Women and Minority Faculty in the Academic Workplace. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000. Print.

Cunningham, Mick. “Changing Attitudes toward the Male Breadwinner, Female Homemaker Family Model: Influences of Women’s Employment and Education over the Lifecourse.” Social Forces. Sep. 2008. Western Washington University. (p. 299-322)

Krefting, Linda A. “Intertwined Discourses of Merit and Gender: Evidence from Academic Employment in the USA.” Gender, Work, and Organization 10.2 (2003): 260-78.

Luce, Stephanie and Mark Brenner. “Women and Class: What has happened in forty years.” Monthly Review. 58.3 (July-August 2006): 80-93.

Merrill, Barbara. Gender, Change and Identity Mature Women Students in Universities. Burlington: Ashgate Pub Ltd, 1999. Print.

Ringrose, Jessica. “Successful girls? Complicating post-feminist, neoliberal discourses of educational achievement and gender equality.” Gender and Education Vol 19. July (2007): 471-89. Rutledge.

Tooley, James. The Miseducation of Women. New York: Continuum International Group, 2002. Print.

1)    In Rhetoric 233, I expected to enhance my writing and research skills, and develop a more structured process when I approach research project.  I specifically took a class in high school called “Research Paper,” and I’m required to write many papers because it corresponds with the workload of my major, Political Science.  I actually do enjoy writing, but oftentimes I procrastinate on my assignments.  Further, I expected to pass the course and receive credit for my Composition II requirement, which I predict will happen without difficulty.
2)    In this course, I certainly learned more about my personal writing process.  In other words, I was able to do a bit of self-discovery about my own writing habits and where I need to improve.  Time management is definitely one of my weaknesses, but I actually think I did a bit better with this course because we were required to finish pieces of our research paper in segments and drafts.  Further, I learned how to correctly go about doing research in an archive, and thoroughly documenting details that I probably would have skipped over, because we analyzed almost all details of an artifact, which only helped with later research and writing.  Also…I’d never done a blog before this class!
3)    I think I would have liked to have more time to read up on the feminist movement, since it was my research topic of choice.  I’ve never read the Feminine Mystique, and I think that’s an important book that I should read.  Also, I came across some things about abortion rights, and I want to read into more of the history of abortion rights and birth control, originally started by Margaret Singer.  Also, I might have liked to learn a different form of citation just for future purposes, such as learning Chicago style citation.
4)    I will certainly utilize the writing process habits I learned from this class in my other classes. I will be writing many, MANY more papers in the future and it helps when I am organized and have multiple drafts to refer to and edit.  I will also use the experience of library research, and be able to better specify which library to use and which databases to run the appropriate searches in.
5)    My writing process was certainly more structured with this class.  I took thorough notes and used the field guide worksheets to identify certain details I thought to be important.  I did multiple drafts, and wrote much of my paper in chunks at a time.  I would focus on one to three artifacts at a time, and then move on to the next artifacts.  I probably could have revised the essay a bit more critically before handing it in, but overall I thought the essay flowed.  Once problem I noticed I had was an inconsistency in referring back to my thesis and research objective.  I did digress at a few points throughout my final paper, and I would want to extract those certain points and focus more specifically on university women and their specific role in the women’s rights movement, rather than when I was discussing public political figures.  Yes, they greatly impacted the women’s rights movement, but my research was meant to focus more on the feminist movement at the University of Illinois instead of at the national level.

Merrill, Barbara. Gender, Change and Identity Mature Women Students in Universities. Burlington: Ashgate Pub Ltd, 1999. Print.

Keywords: adult student, universities, identity, gender, education, empowerment

Quotes:

“The barriers to equality encountered by women academics have their roots deep inside the structure of higher education, itself influenced by norms and values of the wider society.” (p. 4)

“Most of the knowledge produced in our society has been produced by men…They have created men’s studies (the academic curriculum), for, by not acknowledging that they have ‘passed off’ this knowledge as human knowledge.” (p. 33)

“Knowledge is presented as the ‘truth’ and hence is used to justify sexist discourse on women in society.” (p. 33)

“…[W]omen’s student lives were characterized by greater pressures and demands as a result of women’s oppression in the family.” (p. 206)

“Within education empowerment enables individuals and groups to view their lives and the world from a critical perspective.” (p. 207)

Rhetorical Precis

In Barbara Merrill’s “Gender, Change and Identity Mature Women Students in Universities” she asserts the importance of adult women returning to school to receive their college degrees.  Older women that have raised children, or may be divorced, realize that they will have much more success and fulfillment if they go back to college and pursue what they never got the chance to do.  As young women, many lacked support from their parents and were expected to conform to the pattern of marrying young, having children, and being a housewife.  As a result of the Women’s Liberation Movement, women are realizing their potential and are becoming empowered through education and knowledge.

(Visit the Links on my page and you’ll find the website there, labeled Celebration of the Women’s Movement!)

Aguirre, Adalberto, Jr. Women and Minority Faculty in the Academic Workplace. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report.  Vol. 27. No. 6. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000.

Keywords: minority status, affirmative action, high education, faculty, women, reward system

Quotes:

“…[T]he number of doctoral degrees awarded to women between 1980 and 1993 increased 45.2%.” (p. 10)

“…academia’s use of research to contract funding from government agencies and corporations compromises the integrity of academia.” (p. 21)

“Women faculty are also victimized by a biased reward system in the academic workplace…. The lack of personnel policies in the academic workplace that facilitate a woman faculty member’s having a family is an obstacle in women’s pursuit of tenure.” (p. 68).

p. 1 – p. 89

Descriptive Outline

p. 1 I The Status of Women and Minority Faculty: Changing or Unchanging
p. 2 II Changes in the Faculty Population
p. 5 III Changes in Faculty Ranks
p. 9 IV Doctoral Degres and Faculty Representation
p. 12 V A Matter of Representatives
p. 15 VI Minority Faculty
p. 17 VII Summary
p. 19 VIII The Academic Workplace
p. 20 IX Images of Academe
p. 23 X Academe Culture
p. 27 XI The Relationship Between Academic Culture and the Academic Workplace
p. 31 XII Diversity in Academia and the Academic Workplace
p. 36 XIII Summary
p. 39 IXX The Academic Workplace for Women and Minority Faculty
p. 40 XX Issues in the Workplace for Women Faculty
p. 42 XXI Minority Women Faculty
p. 44 XXII Issues in the Workplace for Minority Faculty
p. 46 XXIII The Institutional Context
p. 50 XXIV Fitting In in the Academic Workplace
p. 53 XXV Organizational Fit
p. 56 XXVI Summary
p. 57 XXVII Issues Facing Women and Minority Faculty
p. 58 XXVIII Barriers in the Academic Workplace
p. 60 XXIX Workplace Issues
p. 69 XXX Professional Socialization
p. 72 XXXI Negotiated Identities
p. 74 XXXII Summary
p. 75 XXXIII Summary Observations and Suggestions
p. 75 XXXIV Diversifying the Faculty
p. 79 XXXV Academic Culture and Diversity
p. 81 XXXVI The Academic Workplace and Diversity
p. 84 XXXVII Professional Socialization of Women and Minority Faculty
p. 86 XXXVIII A Final Note

Rhetorical Precis

In “Women and Minority Faculty in the Academic Workplace” by Adalberto Aguirre, he asserts that inequality continues amongst women employed in academia, insofar as being victims of salary inequalities, being accepted to mostly “lower” positions, and having the added stress of the expectation to be a mother and raise a family.  From 1980 to 1993, women had phenomenal success in acquiring doctoral degrees, with an overall increase of 45.2 percent.  Although university enrollment of women as students has increased dramatically, faculty representation has remained practically the same.  Aguirre also suggests that the “profit-making business sector” of academic institutions also contributes to the unequal representation of women in the academic workplace, because changing the face of their faculty could risk losing funding or a potential grant.

Cunningham, Mick. “Changing Attitudes toward the Male Breadwinner, Female Homemaker Family Model: Influences of Women’s Employment and Education over the Lifecourse.” Social Forces. Sep. 2008. Western Washington University. (p. 299-322)

Keywords: Female, Homemaker, Education, Gender, Labor, Social Change, Influence, Breadwinner

Quotes:

“…[T]he magnitude of the influence of education on initial attitudes was not substantially altered by the inclusion of employment variables, pointing to the role of schooling rather than women’s later employment behavior in shaping values.” (p. 316)

“New ideas are likely to be adopted initially by elite groups and subsequently imitates by the larger population.” (p. 302)

“…[T]hose with more education may be likely to adopt new attitudinal and behavioral forms in earlier historical periods than those who have completed less schooling.  Education further, has been positively linked to gender-egalitarianism.” (p. 302)
Descriptive Outline

p. 299-322

p. 299 I Patterns of Change in Attitudes toward the Male Breadwinner, Female Homemaker Family Model
p. 302 II Education and the Diffusion of Innovation
p. 303 III Women’s Employment
p. 304 IV Additional Influences
p. 304 V Data
p. 305 VI Method of Analysis
p. 308 VII Results
p. 313 VIII Conclusion
p. 317 IV Notes

Rhetorical Precis

In “Changing Attitudes toward the Male Breadwinner, Female Homemaker Family Model: Influences of Women’s Employment and Education over the Lifecourse,” Mark Cunningham asserts that women with more years of education are less likely to support the male breadwinner family model.  He incorporated hundreds of women into his study. Cunningham discusses various influences that facilitate a change of attitude in women towards the male breadwinner model, and as more elite groups adopted a negative attitude about male dominance, more people progressively adopt the same views.  Overall, Cunningham asserts that the era in which women grew up or were employed, their religion, and their educational experiences directly affected their attitudes about the role of the male breadwinner in the family and in society.

Keywords: feminism, education, equality, progress, liberalism, competition

Quotes:

“Recent media attention has shifted even greater emphasis on to girls’ educational performance as evidence the individual success is attainable and educational policies are working at school and later at work, indication the enormous influence of the educational discourse of girls’ success in school upon wider popular cultural consciousness.” (p. 474)

“The term ‘post-feminism’ is contested, with some associating the term with post-modernist, post-foundationalist moves to destabilize and deconstruct gender and others associating the term with an anti-feminist ‘backlash’.” (p. 477)

“…[T]he problem of the feminine has traditionally been one of feminine passivity and lack vis-à-vis desire/action/expression defined as masculine.” (p. 483)

Rhetorical Precis

In “Successful girls” Complicating post-feminist, neoliberal discourses of educational achievement and gender equality” (2007) Jessica Ringrose discusses how girls are now seen as overachievers and are blamed for boys’ lack of academic success and superiority.  In a current post-feminist era, claims of reverse discrimination are surfacing saying that women have been given special consideration and opportunities to help them succeed.  This, in turn, has caused boys to be intimidated by women surpassing their own academic goals.  Women have certainly excelled in academia, but this does not necessarily translate to other areas of social equality, so it is important that feminism and the drive for better education remain a concern of government, people and society as a whole.

Descriptive Outline

Ringrose, Jessica. “Successful girls? Complicating post-feminist, neoliberal discourses of educational achievement and gender equality.” Gender and Education Vol 19. July (2007): 471-89. Rutledge.

471-489

p. 471 I Introduction

p. 474 II The Panic over Failing Boys

p. 477 III Testing Gender Equality? Neoliberal discourses of achievement, performance, success and failure

p. 479 IV Liberal Feminism: gender binaries and equality vs. difference

p. 481 V The post-feminist signification of the discourse of girl’s success

p. 483 VI The feminine as both problem and possibility

p. 485 VII Conclusion

Keywords: working woman (p. 80), gender (p. 83), wage (p. 82), college (p. 83), families (p. 84), unions (p. 86), professional (p. 85).

Quotes:

“In academic and public policy circles a lot of attention has been given to the benefits accruing to women with a college degree….  Many of these women have gained economic independence, allowing them to delay marriage or avoid it altogether, enter occupations formerly closed to them, and gain status and authority in their careers,” (p. 82).

“Under capitalism, you can’t have a manger without the manages, and you can’t have a winner without a loser….many of those women who are “winners” by virtue of their new degrees and jobs aren’t really winning…capitalism still constrains their options for caring for others and being cared for,” (p. 92).

Rhetorical Precis

In their article Women and Class: What Has Happened in Forty Years? (2006)  Stephanie Luce and Mark Brenner address the advancement of women in the work force over the past forty years, and mention how education has had a positive effect on their financial stability.  Not only do they assert inequality of genders, but also of racial inequality amongst women in the workforce, with regards to accessibility of education and job training.  Yet, they do make a point to assert how much support women’s issues have gained over the past four decades.

Descriptive Outline

Luce, Stephanie and Mark Brenner. Women and Class: What has happened in forty years? Monthly Review. 58.3 (July-August 2006): 80-93.

80-93

p. 81 I What has Changed for Women Workers Over the Past Forty Years?
p. 83 II What Hasn’t Changed?
p. 85 III Explaining the Trends
p. 89 IV Table 1: Top 20 Occupations for Women Workers, 2005
p. 92 V Notes

First Article

Key Words: Academic employment (p. 260), gender issues (p. 261), status (p. 263), sexism (p.268), merit (p. 268), discourse (p. 272).

Quotes:

“Contrary to common expectations, meither marriage nor parenthood seems to affect women’s productivity,” (p. 264)

“Other ‘gnatlike’ episodes include students and staff who address women faculty with personal titles (Ms or Mrs) rather than the professional titles (Professor or Dr) afforded men faculty, department chairs who ‘support’ them with nominations for jobs they are unqualified for and uninterested in, students who drop classes when they learn the instructor is a women, and difficulty exercising full faculty privileges,” (p. 265)

“Prescriptive stereotypes opposing women’s competence and likeability filter individuating information in ways that leave women less well rewarded than men for comparable achievements, including delayed tenure and promotion to full professor and lower salary,” (p. 268).

Rhetorical Precis

In the article Intertwined Discourses of Merit and Gender: Evidence from Academic Employment in the USA (2003), Linda A. Krefting asserts that there has been improvement over the past few decades for women in academic employment and makes reference to other scholarly journals.  She makes note that it will still be some time before there is complete gender equality in academic employment.  She insists that women’s academic status should be based on ‘merit’, and that institutions should stray away from stereotypes and should assimilate more women into academic employment.

Descriptive Outline

Krefting, Linda A. Intertwined Discourses of Merit and Gender: Evidence from Academic Employment in the USA. Gender, Work, and Organization 10.2 (2003): 260-78.

260-275

p. 260 I Introduction
p. 262 II Women’s representation and experiences in the USA
p. 263 III Macro-data on women’s status
p. 264 IV Micropolitics and lived experience
p. 266 V Change efforts
p. 267 VI Summary of women’s status and experience
p. 268 VII Ambivalent sexism
p. 270 VIII A post-structural feminist perspective
p. 272 IX Discourse and changes in academe
p. 273 X Constructing alternative identities
p. 273 XI Not a simple opposition between men and women
p. 274 XII Conclusion
p.275 XIII Acknowledgements

1) Krefting, Linda A. “Intertwined Discourses of Merit and Gender: Eidence from Academic Employment in the USA.” Gender, Work, and Organization 10.2 (2003): 260-78.

2) Davis, Flora. Moving the Mountain The Women’s Movement in America since 1960. Chicago: University of Illinois, 1999.

3) Luce, Stephanie and Mark Brenner. Women and Class: What has happened in forty years. Monthly Review. 58.3 (July-Augst 2006): 80-93.

4)Martinez, Laura E. Having a family: flexibility and women at top their research institutes. AWIS Magazine.  36.3 (2007): 11-13.

5) Hyers, Suzanne and Marlene Longenecker. National Women’s Studies Association Newsletter. 1.4 (1983): 2-4.

6) Judith, Glazer-Raymo. Unfinished agendas new and continuing gender challenges in higher education. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 2008.