Sexism In America

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After doing academic research into the diversification of the American college system, I was immediately confronted with the large amount of reports of discrimination and harassment wedged in between reports of increasing student body diversity and campus equality. It is easy to wonder how is it that colleges, in their now diversified state, have still been able to retain so much hate and intolerance, while they applaud themselves on reaching new levels of acceptance and tolerance. The very foundation of higher education in America was founded on discrimination based on race, creed, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation (Delbanco 67-69). So it is not hard to believe that remnants of this discrimination are still present in the descendants …show more content…
While women tend to attend college at higher rates than men, with 32% of women holding a bachelor’s degree compared to 24% of men, women are still facing the effects of sexism at American colleges (Fast Facts…). Despite women graduating from college at higher rates, they tend to make up less of the instructing faculty present on American campuses. Take Augusta University for example, the majority of our teaching staff is composed of white men, with men dominating most academic departments and making up 834 of the academic positions at Augusta University, compared to the 646 positions held by women (Workforce Profile…). This can be a discouraging factor to the school’s female students, who see men teaching the classes and running the university and it can make them realize that statistically they might be unable to pursue a career in higher education. In fact, women may be more likely to graduate after receiving their four year degrees, but they are historically less likely to receive a master or doctorate degree, with more than half being historically awarded to males. It is discouraging factor such as the lack of female faculty and the blatant sexism that occurs on campuses that limits higher education to women in America and makes them feel that they do not belong on campus due to its endorsement of this systematic …show more content…
It is estimated that one in five women have been sexually assaulted on American campuses (Kessler). The patriarchal rape culture that prevails around college lifestyles is a huge factor in how women are treated at college. Even on Augusta University, the blue light system and rape prevention groups have had to be established on campus in order to discourage sexual assaults on students. While these rape prevention systems are useful in preventing sexual assaults, in addition to implementations such as the buddy system or the escort system, they may make women feel that they are not as welcome to use campus spaces as their male counterparts and they are only safe from men when there is a man somewhere present in the vicinity. In many cases, these sexual assaults go unreported and even when the assailants are charged, there is still a risk that the assailant will walk free, so it is easy to see why sexual assaults are such a serious part of female experiences on campuses, with women’s gender making them more likely to be victims of sexual crimes which will often end without punishment for the assailant by the man dominated administrations. According to the American governmental Bureau of Justice Statistics, 80% of rapes that occur when the victims are students go unreported, allowing four out of five rapists to go free (Langston). One must ask themselves, “Why is it that these
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