Women have been actively part of the workforce for less than 100 years, and with each year, the gender divide in higher education continues to shrink. Yet, neither one of my grandmothers attended university because of the sexist ideals enforced by their fathers. So, as a woman attending a prestigious public university, which less than 50 years ago was predominantly male, I wanted to learn about the aspirations of my fellow educated women. Below are my results from a survey I sent to female CU students about their goals in life.
“Recent research has shown that although women now enter professional schools in numbers nearly equal to men, they are still substantially less likely to reach the highest echelons of their professions.“
-Janet L. Yellen in “The history of women’s work and wages and how it has created success for us all”
The women I surveyed had a variety of majors: linguistics, finance, microbiology, journalism, psychology, and electrical engineering, to name a few. Until the early 1990s, most women in the labor force followed traditional “feminine” careers like teaching, nursing, and social work; thus, the rise of female doctors, astrophysicists, lawyers, and more is so inspiring. Current college students probably don’t even realize how progressive they are for not only enrolling in college classes but also exploring historically male-dominated degrees.
I asked the women in my survey about their career goals as a little girl compared to now: reflecting on the childhood responses made me nostalgic. As kids, these girls wanted to be everything from construction workers to financial planners and from doctors to ice cream saleswomen. Now, their goals, while more realistic, are just as ambitious. These women want to build rockets, work in art therapy, be NHL commissioners, protect the lives of immigrants through human rights law, and work in fashion-merchandising. They want to be journalists, lobbyists, ER nurses, victim advocates, and market research analysts. Our ancestors, who never got the chance to be educated because of the twisted system that is the patriarchy, are finally getting the chance to see their daughters, granddaughters, and great-nieces step out of the kitchen and pursue their dreams.
Most importantly, I asked the participants if they were passionate about their goals. On a five-point scale from “I have no emotional connection to my major/future career and am only pursuing it for practical reasons” to “I love my major and have a dream job,” every girl answered at or above neutral. This means over half of the respondents claimed to be extremely passionate about their major and future job. Coming from a line of women repressed by the church, their husbands, and their duties as mothers, the complete reverse of female career prospects is amazing. My grandmother never got the chance to be anything more than a drive-through pharmacist and stay-at-home-mom, and now the majority of girls my age are pursuing careers they genuinely want to contribute to.
While there is nothing wrong with dedicating your life to motherhood, the recent and rapid rise of women with full-time jobs since the ratification of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote and kickstarted the female labor force, is shockingly powerful. Whenever I lack motivation, I reflect on my grandmother, who 60 years ago was threatened by her father to never attend college and lived a life of constantly seeking social interaction and purpose. I work harder every day to honor her by achieving everything she couldn’t. Similar to fellow women of CU, I strive for success so I can have autonomy, make my family proud, and achieve something more than perfecting a pie crust recipe. 21st-century women have the same drive, determination, and access to knowledge as our male counterparts, and in five years, we will be scientists, lawyers, published authors, and most importantly, key members of the workforce. Happy Women’s History Month to all women!