Letter from the Chair

You may have seen Nancy Niemi’s article “Why Does the Public Distrust Higher Ed? Too Many Women,” in The Chronicle of Higher Education on April 13, 2018. Niemi writes, “Now that women enroll, succeed, and in many cases, surpass men in attaining college degrees, the value of those degrees is diminishing . . .” and “the worry surrounding gender differences in college enrollment and success may be a bellwether for a bleaker trend: that men are leaving college precisely because woman are succeeding in it.” In sum, men are finding other spaces to thrive (read the tech industry) and other ways to gain credentials that have currency in male-dominated workspaces.

Niemi builds her argument around several studies, including findings in the recently released Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce report by authors Anthony Carnevale, Nicole Smith, and Artem Gulish, titled Women Can’t Win. A key takeaway: even when you account for factors such as level of education, field of study, choice of major within the field, and occupation, women still get paid less than equally qualified men. Even when women are equally qualified, they make 92 cents for every dollar made by a man. (Sounds familiar: check out ACE’s American College President Study to see what women college presidents are making.) One of six recommendations made by the authors is that if you want to earn as much as a man, get one additional degree.

What a conundrum! A woman needs to get one more degree than a man to get the same pay, but women’s success in college is actually prompting men to change course. When women move to close the wage and career gap by following the path that men use to find success, the path to male success diverges as men seek other ways to prosper. 

One conclusion is that women will never catch up. However, my experience at the recent New York State ACE Women’s Network Annual Meeting makes me believe that though the pay differential between men and women persists, women have already found their path to success. This amazing gathering of nearly 100 professionally focused, motivated women reinforced for me what I have come to learn during my time working with women: despite lack of fairness and equity, despite being diminished when viewed through a lens of cultural bias, being a woman is not less. Being a woman is enough.

Women have been at the center of what I believe will prove to be the most consequential movements of our time. The women at the center of the #MeToo movement and the 2017 Women’s March literally changed our view of the world and women’s place in it, but not by trying to do what the men do. These women helped us find our voice through their grass roots work to get large numbers of women to say, simply, “enough.”

I encourage you to take some time to read about Teresa Shook, Evvie Harmon, Fontaine Pearson, Mari Lynn “Bob” Bland, Breanne Butler, Vanessa Wruble, Tamika D. Mallory, Carmen Perez, Linda Sarsour, Janaye Ingram, and Paola Mendoza. Each of these women served in key roles to catalyze the official Women’s March on Washington.

Read about #MeToo creator Tarana Burke. She developed an African-centered all-girls program, Just Be, to support young black girls aged 12–18 who had experienced sexual violence. To help ensure that these girls would develop a sense of self-worth and positive self-esteem, she created a #MeToo MySpace page in 2006 so that they could find strength in sharing. When others adopted #MeToo in 2017, the true power of her insight took flight. Time named Burke and other activist “silence breakers” Person of the Year for 2017.

These women were not less than they needed to be to find success in their effort. They were just what they needed. The women who attended the New York State ACE Women’s Network annual gathering are not less than they need to be to find success. They are just what they need to be. You are not less than you need to be to find your success. You are just what you need to be.

This is my last NetworkNews column as the chair of the Women’s Network Executive Council. As I prepare to step down from my role, I applaud Karen Schuster Webb as she steps up in July to assume this leadership position. Karen is exactly what she needs to be to lead this inspiring organization.

Best,
Margaret L. Drugovich
President, Hartwick College (NY)
Chair, ACE Women’s Network Executive Council