Women have made great strides in education due to Title IX, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in federally-funded education, and affirmative action programs that have increased hiring, promotion, training, athletic and admission opportunities in educational institutions.
The dramatic increase in the enrollment in and graduation of women from medical schools is one example of the gains women have made as a result of affirmative action programs. Because medical school requires long years of preparation in math and science classes in secondary school and college before the application to medical school is made, percentage of women enrolles and graduates reflect the cumulative effect of years of increased outreach and other affirmative action programs.
| 1969-70 | 1979-80 | 1989-90 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Enrolled | 9.0% | 25.3% | 36.2% |
| Graduates | 8.4% | 23.1% | 34.5% |
In addition, women have significantly increased their share of doctoral and professional degrees since affirmative action programs began. In 1971, women received only 14.4% of doctorates. In 1991, the number of female doctoral recipients had jumped to 36.8%.
Women's participation in college and high school sports has greatly increased over the past two decades. In 1972, women comprised only 15.6% of college athletes. As of 1993, that percentage had grown to 34.8%. In high school athletics, the numbers of girls participating in interscholastic sports increased from seven percent in 1972 to 37% in 1992.
The fight for equal educational opportunities, however, is far from over. Women are receiving doctorates in greater numbers, but gains have been less in non-traditional fields. In 1991, Ph.D.s in the fields of social science and humanities were awarded in almost even numbers to women and men. But women comprised only 8.7% of engineering doctorates and 18.4% of doctoral degrees in the physical sciences. Though more women are becoming physicians, few are in the higher paying fields of surgery. Women are also shortchanged in scholarships and other forms of financial support for post-graduate education. According to the National Research Council, 56.1% of male doctoral recipients financed their graduate education with university support, compared with 39.9% of women. Of women doctoral recipients, 50.4% paid for their education through personal resources, while only 31% of men relied on their personal finances.
The increase in women as faculty members at colleges and universities as a result of affirmative action remains among the junior faculty, with few professors. Tenure status is less common, as women held only 20.5% of tenured faculty positions in 1991.
| Total | Women | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professors | 144,341 | 21,168 | 14.7% |
| Associate Professors | 116,631 | 32,320 | 27.7% |
| Assistant Professors | 126,344 | 50,215 | 39.7% |
| Instructors | 78,082 | 36,958 | 47.3% |
| Lecturers | 11,275 | 5,913 | 52.4% |
Women faculty members receive far lower salaries than their male counterparts. Overall, women faculty make 80.8 cents for every dollar men faculty are paid. The wage gap persists even among tenured faculty members. Women who are full professors make only 88.5% of the salaries of men who are full professors.
Women are under-represented in administrative positions in high school and grammar school, even though they make up the majority of high school and grammar school teachers. Women accounted for only 30% of all principals at public schools during the 1990-91 school year.
Although more than a third of college athletes are women, men receive a disproportionate share of the money spent on college athletics. Male athletes receive 70% of scholarship money, 77% of operating budgets, and 83% of recruitment money. The percentage of girl athletes has been increasing very slowly and in some cases decreasing since the late 1970s. The percentage of high school girl sophomores participating in athletic teams actually declined from 46% in 1980 to 41% in 1990.
Proposition 209 guts equal opportunity affirmative action programs including outreach, counseling, tutoring and recruitment which provide access to minorities and women. At the college and university level, Title IX rules will still be in place because federal funds are used. State and local funds are the source for elementary and secondary education. At those levels, funding is at the perogative of local school boards because little federal funds are used. The programs that are helpful to prepare women and minorities to participate in higher education will no longer be protected and the long path to medical school or technical education will be cut off prematurely.As a result there will be a less diverse applicant pool to chose from and members of minority communities will continue to be under served.
According to Haile Debas, Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco, "A recent UCSF study conclusively confirmed what we have long suspected: that African-American and Hispanic physicians return to serve their respective communities, the very communities that need more doctors! . . . These accomplishments would not have been possible without affirmative action. If you dismantle affirmative action, you are denying the nation the healing opportunity to reject the injustice of race and class discrimination." We have greatly improved the health care of Americans at the greatest need for medical care through our affirmative action programs.
Proposition 209 threatens the ability of health care providers, hospitals and clinics to recruit educated minorities and women because it guts equal opportunity scholarships and programs for women and people of color to attend public universities, K-12 educational programs, and other public education programs.
The lowering of standards for gender discrimination impact women physicians entering the workplace at hospitals and clinics. This constitutional lowering of standards for gender discrimination creates an entire new set of reasons not to hire a women physician. This is especially important for graduating medical students and residents completing training, who fear untested prohibitions on hiring in public employment and contracting.
The American Medical Women's Association (AMWA), a national organization representing the voice of women physicians and medical students, supports affirmative action and endorses opposition to Proposition 209. According to Debra Judelson, MD, AMWA 1996-1997 President and California resident, "Women and minority physicians bring an awareness and understanding to the patient-doctor relationship that has been missing for too many years. Just as medical research has concentrated on the male model of disease, so has patient care. We can not close our eyes to our patients' needs. Proposition 209 will block us from encouraging the very students we need to see enter the healing profession, and limit the job availability of the women physicians already in training as they enter the job market."
American Medical Association, Women in Medicine in American: In the Mainstream Chicago:AMA, 1991.
Nolan E Penn et al, "Affirmative Action at Work: A Survey of Graduates of the university of California, San Diego Medical School, American Journal of public Helath 1986;76:1145-46
National Research Council Office of Scientific sand Engineering Personnel, Summary Report 1991: Doctorate Recipients from United States Universities Washington DC: National Academy Press, 1993.
New England Journal Of Medicine, Black and Hispanic Physicians and Underserved Populations, Vol. 334, No. 20 at 1309.
Disclaimer: This page is provided by an
individual as a public service and is unrelated to any campaign. It is not run
by any campaign or supported by any campaign funds. Material may be submitted by
any individual, group, or campaign for inclusion on this website, however, the
owner reserves the right to make all decisions regarding what material is
accepted and displayed. Reasonable attempts to verify the accuracy of all
material submitted will be made, however, submitted material and verifying
documentation, by their electronic nature, may be inaccurate. We apologize if
inadvertent errors are made and will promptly and prominently correct any
inaccuracies that are identified and verified. All information, text and images,
accessible on the 'noccri' website are copyright © 1996 - 2001 or California
Votes NO on 209 has authorization from the copyright holder.Technical problems
and corrections on this site may be sent to Webmaster@ajdj.com
Last updated on May 16, 2001
Return to California Votes NO on 209 home page