Women in Higher Education

The only comprehensive encyclopedia on the subject of women in higher education.

America's first wave of feminists—Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and others—included expanded opportunities for higher education in their Declaration of Sentiments at the first Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, in l848. By then, the first American institutions to educate women had been founded, among them, Mt. Holyoke Seminary, in l837. However, not until after the Civil War did most universities admit women—and not for egalitarian purposes. War casualties had caused a drop in enrollment and the states needed teachers. Women students paid tuition, but, as teachers, were paid salaries half that of men.

By the late 20th century, there were more female than male students of higher education, but women remained underrepresented at the higher levels of educational leadership and training. This volume covers everything from historical and cultural context and gender theory to women in the curriculum and as faculty and administrators.