Celebrating 125 Years of University Women

Seventeen women founded the American Association of University
Women in 1881 because their enrollment numbers in colleges and universities across the country were pretty much scarce. Some of the most elite schools did not even admit women. But 125 years later, there has been a reversal of fortune, and today there are more women than men in institutions of higher education.

So mission accomplished? Not quite, says AAUW president, Ruth Z. Sweetser.

Consider this: Women with four-year college degrees continue to earn, on average, $17,600 less than men with the same level of education, AAUW research shows. And women are also “pigeonholed in traditional occupations that do not offer significant room for advancement, higher salaries and financial security.

“Our work will focus on bringing equity into all aspects of women’s lives,
from the classroom to the boardroom,” Sweetser says.

© Copyright 2007 by DiverseEducation.com

Top of Page