Speeches and Articles
Yes to Women's Colleges
An op-ed by Simmons College President Susan Scimshaw that appeard in the October 4, 2006 issue of the Boston Globe
Yes, every bit as relevant, and in some cases more so, than they were when I was an undergraduate at Barnard College 40 years ago. Women have made extraordinary gains, but women are still the "first" and sometimes the "only" in many settings and situations. There are still wage and opportunity differences. There is still work to be done. Women's colleges are an important place for that work to continue.
Women's colleges empower their students. Students say they receive support for who they are, what they bring, what they want to accomplish, and how to get there. You hear "yes" and "why not?" instead of "no" or "why?" And you gain confidence that you are in charge of your future.
Even today, when women occupy more than half the seats in a typical coeducational classroom, women at single-sex institutions report having more engaging academic experiences than women at coed schools.
The Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research surveyed more than 42,000 students, including students at 26 women's colleges, in a study published in July. They found that students from women's colleges reported that overall they have greater satisfaction with their college experience, including greater support for their success, far more interaction with faculty members, more integrative learning experiences, better-developed quantitative analysis skills, and far more opportunities to develop leadership skills.
Consider the power: Although only 2 percent of all women who attended a US college or university in the past 30 years were graduates of women's colleges, they constitute 20 percent of women in Congress and nearly 20 percent of the 2005 Fortune "50 Most Powerful Women in Business." Students at women's colleges have more opportunities to observe women in top jobs. (At women's colleges, the majority of the presidents are women, and more than half of the faculty members are women.)
And we cannot stop here. In our society, we continue to hold cultural stereotypes about gender roles and abilities. Minority women face a double set of challenges.
Johnnetta Cole, president of Bennett College, a historically black women's college in Greensboro, N.C., and president emerita of Spelman College, points to society to explain relevancy: "As long as we live in a society where there is power and privilege in being white and being male, we need these institutions."
Despite progress in the business world, there is still a long and sometimes arduous climb for women up the leadership ladder. Women currently hold more than half of the management and professional positions in this country. But a July 2006 Catalyst study of Fortune 500 companies shows that women occupy only 9.4 percent of titles higher than vice president, hold only 6.4 percent of top-paying positions, and represent only 16.4 percent of corporate officers. Moreover, women of color in the Fortune 500 survey hold less than 2 percent of corporate officer positions and represent only 1 percent of Fortune 500 top earners.
Women's colleges are not the right fit for everyone. But even in today's coeducational classes, many women report they do not feel empowered. A 2003 study of women in coeducational classes at Duke University reported that many women say they still face subtle and traditional stereotypical pressures. But if women's schools are so relevant, why are their numbers shrinking -- from about 300 schools in the late 1960s to 58 today? Most women's colleges that have gone co ed make what they say is a heart-wrenching decision because they face tough financial issues.
But the news at Simmons and many of the remaining women's colleges is good. Simmons enrollment has increased by more than 50 percent in the past five years. Our applicant pool and our first-year class are among the largest in our history. We are not alone. The healthy endowments of such women's colleges as Wellesley, Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Bryn Mawr are examples of success and strength.
I recently sat in on an advanced organic chemistry class where the professor asked for volunteers to demonstrate molecular resonance by moving to different types of music. I wistfully said to the young student next to me, "I wish I could go down there and dance. But that's probably not a good idea, since I am supposed to be observing." With no hesitation, she said: "This is a women's college. We can do anything we want."