Worries Over a 2-to-1 Ratio: Where the Boys Aren't

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/09/24/charleston

by cwan • 16 years ago

21 20 16 years ago

w1ntermute• 16 years ago

> Gender gaps are nothing new, but they are problematic for colleges because they can be taken to suggest women are seeking higher education, while men are not. They can also cause awkward social environments on campuses and, if they get wide enough, may discourage men from applying.

Advertising the gap is probably a great way to increase the number of male applicants.

cabalamat• 16 years ago

I was about to say the same thing. Most young men are interested in sex, and a 2:1 gender ratio is likely to mean that unless they're deformed or have zero social skills, they'll get plenty.

sp3323• 16 years ago

This is a very alien worldview to me. Being curious or "hormonally charged" seems normal, but people seriously looking to have sex in college seem to be in the minority. Otherwise, there would be an orgy every weekend, right? Anyway, advertising the sexuality of the women on campus to attract more men frankly makes me feel sick.

m-photonic• 16 years ago

Not everyone would agree with your conclusion.

>Jayne Dallas, a senior studying advertising who was seated across the table, grumbled that the population of male undergraduates was even smaller when you looked at it as a dating pool. “Out of that 40 percent, there are maybe 20 percent that we would consider, and out of those 20, 10 have girlfriends, so all the girls are fighting over that other 10 percent,” she said.

Source: http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/colleges-where...

ojbyrne• 16 years ago

"This potential stigma has caused federal concern about admissions processes. In November the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights began an inquiry into discrimination against female applicants at liberal arts colleges"

So when there weren't enough women in college, it was because of discrimination against women. And when there's too many women in college, it's also because of discrimination against women.

gregfjohnson• 16 years ago

I believe the inquiry was to determine whether discrimination against female applicants was starting to happen as a way to redress the male/female imbalance.

allengoodman2• 16 years ago

Exactly. Most of the top ranked liberal arts college have gender parity. For example, my school, Amherst College, has a 50% male to female ratio. Likewise, Williams is 48% to 50%, Swarthmore is 47% to 53%, and Pomona is equal. This is also true for Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Since each school is competing for the same 10% of high school students and has an acceptance rate of 10% it’s probable that males have an advantage. However, affirmative action contributes a fair amount to the overall success of these schools and their graduates. I suspect, and I hope, applicants agree.

It’s also worth mentioning that this has become more of a problem because of the Seven Sisters. Harvard’s acquiring of Radcliffe and Vassar becoming coeducational placed greater pressure on similarly ranked schools. Moreover, Amherst and Williams’ becoming coeducational might’ve contributed to this imbalance.

kylec• 16 years ago

That's the issue though - for decades there was discrimination for female applicants to 'redress the male/female imbalance'. It's still being done at a lot of places. But suddenly now that the scale has tipped in the opposite direction, the same mechanism triggers an inquiry?

gamble• 16 years ago

It would be interesting to know the male-to-female ratio in trade schools and apprenticeships. One of the reasons (white) males apply to college in lower numbers is that they have the easiest access to the good jobs that don't require a degree. You won't see many women working as oilfield roughnecks, plumbers, or truck drivers. Without a degree, women tend to be trapped in low-end service and clerical jobs.

Worries Over a 2-to-1 Ratio: Where the Boys Aren't

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