WITH MEN becoming a smaller minority at the University and on campuses around the country, it's been easy for commentators to speak of a "gender gap" in college admissions. While the rhetoric of clear-cut gender divides provides an easy explanation for the nation's chattering classes, it ignores the reality of a situation that is far more complex.
In reality, statistics bear out that the "gender gap" is a sign of economic inequities which disadvantage poor men even more than their female classmates. Moreover, the most significant injustice stemming from gender continues to be the barriers that women face in entering the fields of math and science. Any reasonable approach to addressing the "gender gap" must focus on taking down the inequities that affect working-class men and women alike, while continuing to aid women in overcoming the obstacles that stand in the way of gender equality in the most promising sectors of the economy.
Many commentators have pointed to stark statistics to illustrate the depth of the "gender gap." With women constituting 56 percent of the University's undergraduate enrollment and 57 percent of the national enrollment, it would seem as though men are suffering some sort of universal discrimination.
The reality of the situation at the University is much different. Dean of Admissions John Blackburn pointed out in an interview, "We offered admission to same percentage to women as to men this year, but the response rate for women was four percentage points higher for women than for men."
Moreover, the gender gap is almost entirely a function of income. Data collected by the Department of Education cited in the Oct. 19 issue of USA Today stated that while women have a 60 to 40 percent advantage in college enrollment among families earning less than $30,000 a year, this drops to 56 to 44 percent among families earning between $30,000 and $69,999, and to only 51 to 49 percent for families earning greater than $70,000.
In this light, the "gender gap" should not be taken as a sign that thousands of years of patriarchy are giving way to a system dominated by women. In reality, because boys' development is on average two years slower than girls', they are more likely to underachieve or drop out of school than either their female classmates or their male counterparts who attend well-funded schools in prosperous suburbs. Any attempt to address the gender gap will fail unless it tackles the inequalities that afflict the American education system.
While the economic inequalities have created a gender gap in college enrollment, we must not lose sight of the fact that women continue to face major obstacles in achieving an equal education. With an Oct. 24 article in The Cavalier Daily pointing out that women account for only 44 percent of the enrollment in the Commerce School and 25 percent of enrollment in the Engineering School, it is vital for the University to continue to pursue efforts to provide support for women on Grounds.
At the end of the day, there is only so much that the University can do to address the gender gap. While affirmative action for men is not a realistic prospect for a variety of moral and practical reasons, the University should step up efforts to recruit working-class men. Although Blackburn noted that, "I can't imagine our office or our University giving special advantage to male applicants," he did point out that, "We are concerned about the smaller percentage of African-American and Hispanic men and we may be doing some recruiting activities to address that."
While these efforts could create a more balanced gender ratio for future incoming classes at the University, the "gender gap" will never go away until the nation addresses the educational inequalities that fuel it. That is why students have an important role to play as agitators for social changes to correct the economic inequalities that do so much to society. While the degree to which any one student could impact such a large problem is limited, University students could set an example for activists across the nation by making the gender gap an important aspect of the mandate for economic equality.
When all is said and done, it is important to remember that the "gender gap" has much more to do with economics than with an inversion of patriarchy. As the University goes forward, it must confront the outgrowths of economic inequalities that fuel the gender gap, while continuing to address the very real gender barriers faced by women.
Adam Keith is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at akeith@cavalierdaily.com.
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