William Sipe

Prof. Gonzalez
English 1A
9/16/13
Gender Roles and College Success


The gender gap is the inequality between men and women in many aspects of todays
society. The gender gap something that is far too slowly diminishing amongst the workplace, but
at the same time alarmingly growing in higher education. Women are dominating the academic
fields, yet they are still, on average, making less than men and continue to be discriminated
against. The academic success is in turn causing a disadvantage for men because women are less
likely to marry down and marriages are less likely to succeed when the man is not the bread
winner. John Tierney states that Steven Nock of the University of Virginia has found that
marriages in which the wife and husband earn roughly the same are more likely to fail than other
marriages (131). So females, though becoming more educated than men, are limiting their
options for mates due to their unwillingness to marry down to a man who makes less than they
do. Therefore the mind set behind wanting equality, but at the same time determined not to marry
a man who makes less than them becomes almost hypocritical. Presently, the issue begins with
mens mindset of entitlement, in a sense. Men know that they can probably make a pretty decent
living with less education and getting a blue-collar job right or close to right after college.
Boys have ended up as the minority when it comes to higher education, and education in
general. As stated by Christina Hoff Sommers, more boys get suspended from school, are held
back, or drop out. Boys are three times more likely to receive a diagnosis of attention-deficit
hyperactivity disorder (134). Young men lose interest in school very easily, the more years of
school, the less interested they get. Time goes by and they will stop bringing supplies to class,
stop studying, bringing materials, or even caring. Men want to get out and make money and start
life as fast as possible. They are all about immediate gratification, while more women tend to
William Sipe
Prof. Gonzalez
English 1A
9/16/13
have the power to continue through the rigor of schooling seeing the reward that lies ahead. Men
have been taught that they make more than women and can be very successful with a blue-collar
job right out of college or with only year or two of trade school. This creates quiet an issue when
it comes to the gender gap and relationships. The Department of Education reports that in 1996
there were 8.4 million women but only 6.7 men enrolled in college. It predicts that women will
hold on to and increase their lead will into the next decade, and that by 2007 the numbers will be
9.2 million and 6.9 million (Sommers, 135) Granted there are more women on the planet then
men, but that does not constitute over a two million-person gap. There are many groups
encouraging women to get higher education, but not enough groups for young men that
encourage the same thing. This gap is affecting life in many different aspects, one of which being
marriages. The gender gap is not only affecting marriage success, but also marriage itself. Since
women are upping their standards and diminishing their options of mates to choose from, less are
getting married. Also, those who are married are facing more struggles and getting divorced
more often. Roughly 40-50% of marriages end in divorce (qtd. Americans per Divorce Reform).
Surely this statistic can be attributed to financial situations, especially considering the crisis that
the United States has been in for the last couple of years. This is where the gender gap comes
into play when it comes to who is supporting the family and bringing home the money or the
majority of the money in the relationship.
Women are dominating the academic field and there is no debate there. So why does the
average man still make more than a woman in the same position? This seems to be very
prevalent in the world of business. It is very hard for women to climb their way to the top when
it comes to corporate business as well as other areas. According to a 2008 study by the U.S.
Department of Labor, women earn on average 80 percent of what men earn. If caught, employers
William Sipe
Prof. Gonzalez
English 1A
9/16/13
can be sued under provisions of the The Equal Pay Act of 1963 and might be required to pay
fines and issue back-pay (Finn). This is just one example of the discrimination of women in the
workplace. There is also the prevalent issue of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is
unlawful to harass a person (an applicant or employee) because of that persons sex. Harassment
can include sexual harassment or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and
other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature (The US Equal Employment Opportunity
Commision). According to Maya Riseman, 31 percent of females compared to just 7 percent of
male workers claim to have been harassed in the work place (Riseman). This is obviously a huge
problem, not only does it cost companies a lot of money in law suites, but it show a disgusting
disrespect for women in the work place. It also shows that sense of entitlement that a lot of men
have which is causing this epidemic. Another problem is that women do not always report these
incidents, they try and just brush it off, when in reality all this does is tell the men that they can
get away with it. Therefore this problem continues and until it is taken care of, women will not
be able to have equality in the work place. Women may dominate higher education, but until
major changes can occur in the mindset of men and society as a whole, women will continue to
face discrimination in the work place.
Gender roles are disappearing. There are more and more men pushing strollers, cleaning,
cooking, and sharing the same responsibilities that used to be solely put onto the women. You
are starting to see more Mr. Moms and no one really cares. People do not make fun of others
for taking care of their kids, it is respected now and a lot of women even find it attractive. This
goes for women as well, sometimes if there is a Mr. Mom then the woman will be the one
working late or making more of the money, so sometimes the gender roles are switched. This
especially goes for times of financial misfortune and occupation loss. Men do jobs women used
William Sipe
Prof. Gonzalez
English 1A
9/16/13
to only do and vice versa and it has become widely socially acceptable. Equality for men and
women in the workforce is obtainable in the future; hopefully that is the near future. Times have
been changing, slowly, but changing nonetheless and it will continue to do so. The hierarchy of
businessmen just needs to lose their discriminatory attitude and get with the times. That is
really what the majority of the discrimination is about, a mindset that has yet to be changed and
has been around for far to long without a push for drastic change.
In conclusion, men and women should be equal, but there are many things that put a
block in the road for this equality. First off, equality in school will not be possible until society
starts pushing young men to pursue higher levels of college education and stop advertising the
success of blue-collar jobs. Women are more likely to pursue higher education than men and this
is greatly affecting marriage. Secondly, men need to stop discriminating against women in the
work place and this will only be possible once the sexual harassment, which is really a respect
issue, is dealt with effectively. And finally, gender roles will be non-existent in the semi near
future. Men are doing duties that only women used to do and it is completely acceptable and
becoming even expected. The gender gap is growing, women are dominating; yet they are still
being discriminated against in the workplace, and this does not make sense. Men need to step
their game up academically and to do so they need the motivation to stay in school and pursue
jobs that take a little bit longer schooling to achieve. The difference between the amount of men
compared to the amount of women in college and doing well throughout school is astronomical.
On the other hand, women need to continue to thrive and prove the men wrong, that is what is
going to make equality in the work place, women have come very far but unfortunately it is a
slow fight when it comes to the change of the business world. Times are changing and it is time
for the people the do the same.
William Sipe
Prof. Gonzalez
English 1A
9/16/13