{"id":9678,"date":"2025-02-28T12:54:04","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T17:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diplomaframe.com\/chc-blog\/?p=9678"},"modified":"2025-07-29T15:41:43","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T20:41:43","slug":"are-womens-colleges-still-relevant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diplomaframe.com\/chc-blog\/are-womens-colleges-still-relevant\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Women\u2019s Colleges Still Relevant?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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As we celebrate Women\u2019s History Month and acknowledge the pivotal roles and significant contributions of American women, it\u2019s worth noting that many of these trailblazers were alumnae of historically women\u2019s colleges. Those history-making pioneers include poet Emily Dickinson (Mount Holyoke)<\/a>, women\u2019s rights activist Gloria Steinem (Smith)<\/a>, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker (Spelman)<\/a>, broadcast journalist Barbara Walters (Sarah Lawrence)<\/a>, four-time Academy Award winner Katharine Hepburn (Bryn Mawr)<\/a>, and former US Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (Wellesley)<\/a>.<\/p>

While there were more than 200 all-girls colleges thriving in the 1960s, today there are fewer than 40 full-time women\u2019s colleges in the US. So is the concept of an all-women student body an antiquated notion? Has it outlived its purpose in today’s educational landscape? According to Forbes, \u201cResearch continues to show that women\u2019s colleges prepare their students and provide a pipeline for women\u2019s leadership in ways that co-ed institutions have been unable to.\u201d<\/p>

Why Are There Women\u2019s Colleges?<\/h2>

To understand the importance of all-women colleges, one must understand their history in the United States. It is essential to look back in time to comprehend the effect these institutions have had on society. Prior to the 19th century, only single-gender colleges for men existed, and their primary purpose was to prepare affluent young males for leadership roles in the clergy or in government. Their female counterparts were educated at home or at year-long finishing schools, where they\u2019d study the intricacies of social graces and upper-class etiquette. This included how to set a table, receive guests, and other \u201csoft skills\u201d. As stated on Mount Saint Mary\u2019s University<\/a> website, 19th century propaganda inferred that girl college students might \u201csuccumb to \u2018brain fever\u2019 if called upon to use their minds so vigorously.\u201d<\/p>

According to the Women\u2019s College Coalition, the abolitionist movement of the 1830s gave rise to educational opportunities for women and all-female colleges, since \u201cwomen both championed the abolitionist cause and identified with its goals of emancipation for a disenfranchised group.\u201d Oberlin Collegiate Institute (now known as Oberlin College) was an integral part of the Underground Railroad in Ohio and, in 1835, became the first institution in the United States to admit African American male students. Two years later, Oberlin opened its doors to women, becoming the nation\u2019s first coeducational institution.<\/p>

However, Oberlin didn\u2019t offer gender equity in education. Women were dismissed from classes on Mondays for the sole purpose of tending to the male students\u2019 laundry. And, the only school diplomas that Oberlin alumnae could earn were from the Ladies Course curriculum or the Teachers Department. These certificates reflected the only two socially acceptable pursuits for women at that time: homemaker or teacher.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Where Was the First Women\u2019s College?<\/h2>

The nation\u2019s first college, Harvard University, was established in 1636. Exactly 200 years later, women finally had access to a comparable immersive college experience in Macon, Georgia. While many of the original \u201cfinishing schools for girls\u201d eventually evolved into women-only colleges, the very first school to establish itself from its inception as a university for women was Georgia Female College. Catherine Brewer Benson graduated from Wesleyan College in 1840. She was the first woman in the world to earn a college bachelor\u2019s degree. Very progressive for its time, Georgia Female College offered academic rigor to its undergraduate students. It had a strong science-based curriculum and fields of study such as philosophy, geology, astronomy, botany, chemistry, history, and ancient and modern languages.<\/p>

What Are the Seven Sisters Colleges?<\/h2>

The history of women\u2019s colleges would not be complete without mention of the 7 Sisters Colleges. These sisters schools are private educational institutions that include Barnard<\/a> (affiliated with Columbia University), Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Radcliffe College (now merged with Harvard), Smith, Vassar<\/a> (now coed), and Wellesley. These prestigious liberal arts institutions, considered the best women’s colleges in the United States, were all founded in the 19th century on the East Coast. This consortium of seven women colleges formed in 1926 as a means for \u201craising endowment money sufficient for the desired caliber of education for these early 20th century young women,\u201d according to the Vassar Encyclopedia. Vassar President Henry Noble MacCracken\u2019s aim was to increase faculty salaries. So that \u201cwomen students may be taught by scholars of as high quality as those who instruct their brothers\u201d at all-male Ivy League schools.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Is a University for Women Necessary?<\/h2>

The original intent of female colleges and universities was to provide an underserved group with equal access to higher education. For the past four decades, women college students have consistently outnumbered male students across the United States. And in the 2021 academic year, there were 10 million women<\/a> compared to 6.8 million men in total undergraduate enrollment. So now that female students are no longer underrepresented in higher education, what value do all-women\u2019s college institutions hold?<\/p>

While women achieved equal access to education in the 20th century, equal pay is still nonexistent in the 21st century. Women earn 83 cents<\/a> for every dollar a man earns, and they receive less pay<\/a> for performing the same work as men in nearly every occupation. Women hold more jobs than men in the U.S. workforce, yet only a small percentage rise to positions of leadership.<\/p>

\u201cToday, there are fewer women in rising management roles than there were in 2019, even though having more women in leadership roles isn\u2019t just good for women, it\u2019s better for business,\u201d states Bay Path University<\/a> president, Sandra J. Doran J.D., citing Harvard Business School\u2019s study that women in corporate leadership positions create a 15% profitability increase for a typical firm.<\/p>

The case for an all-girls university is clear: American women\u2019s college graduates may only account for 2% of the total college graduate population, but they make up more than 20% of the women in Congress and 33% of women on Fortune 1000 boards. All-female college student populations may be small, but they are mighty<\/a>!<\/p>

Why Go to a Women\u2019s College?<\/h2>

Research citing the empowering climate<\/a> of an all-women school is well-documented and quite compelling. They are institutions whose faculty and board of trustees are invested in and committed to women\u2019s success and well-being. There are a wealth of benefits for young women who are thinking about applying to all-female colleges.<\/p>

Students Receive a Top-Notch Education<\/h3>

To gain admission into a female-only university, women must have exceptional SAT scores and be at the top of their class. It\u2019s fair to say female universities are highly selective, as evidenced by these women university statistics:<\/p>