MULHERES AGORA FORMAM A MAIORIA DO CORPO ESTUDANTIL DE CURSOS DE GRADUAÇÃO E PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO NOS ESTADOS UNIDOS. O BRASIL VAI NO MESMO CAMINHO
A matéria abaixo dá conta de um fenômeno que eu já vinha notando que é a presença majoritária de mulheres nas salas de aula. Aliás, neste fenômeno há um elemento adicional que eu noto que é a disposição para maior seriedade e disciplina da maioria das mulheres em relação às tarefas cotidianas dos seus cursos. Eu pensava que esta era apenas uma visão individual, mas aparentemente a presença de mulheres se tornou, nos EUA, predominante até nos cursos de pós-graduação.
Agora a explicação dada para esse aumento das mulheres nas universidades é curiosa. Isto estaria se dando pela perspectiva, aparentemente verdadeira, de que as mulheres precisam ser muito mais bem preparadas do que os homens para avançarem em suas carreiras de escolha. Em outras palavras, homens mais despreparados continuam levando vantagem na hora da contratação, apenas por serem homens. Se isto é verdade numa sociedade pretensamente rica e desenvolvida como a dos EUA, penso deve ser bem pior em países como o Brasil, onde a falta de mérito e o sexismo são ainda mais explícitos.
Why Are Women More Interested in Going to College Than Men?
LIZ DWYEREducation Editor
It's been a generation since the gender balance on campus began to shift in favor of the ladies. More women than men have been going to college since the 1980s; since 1996, more women have been graduating; and last year U.S. Census data revealed that women now earn more graduate degrees. According to a new report from the National Center for Education Statistics, the trend of women dominating higher education is going to continue.
Much of the data in this latest report confirms what we already know—more women than men end up enrolling in college and end up graduating. But, the data also reveals that female students are more likely than men to want to go to college and that disparity in aspiration starts early. Indeed, 59 percent of female high school freshman say they expect to complete a bachelor's or graduate degree, but only 53 percent of males say the same. By senior year everybody's desire to go to college is up (thankfully) but while 96 percent of female high-school seniors want to go to college, only 90 percent of males do.
Women are also more likely to translate their desire to go to college into action. Eighty percent of female high school students research colleges, compared to only 68 percent of men. And more female students than males (62 percent as opposed to 55 percent) "consulted college representatives for information about college entrance."
So what's behind the lagging interest men have in higher education? Last year a study from the Pew Research Center revealed that people believea woman needs a degree more than a man in order to get ahead in the world. It's likely that boys are getting the sexist messages that drive this kind of thinking at a pretty young age. While we cheer wholeheartedly for the accomplishments of women, we also don't want to see a generation of men left behind. After all, gender doesn't inherently prepare us to be good citizens, be effective in the workplace, or solve the problems facing our world.
Photo via (cc) Flickr user Rodney Martin
