While women are a 55 percent majority of undergraduates nationally, in Utah they are closer to a 45 percent minority. The gender gap in higher education has caught the attention of administrators and policymakers who want to learn why and how to get more women through college. Finding solutions is critical if the state hopes to reach its goal of increasing the share of the working population with a post-secondary credential to 66 percent, officials say.
The Legislature earmarked $100,000 to implement recommendations recently released by the Utah Women’s College Task Force, which Gov. Gary Herbert convened last year.
A few years ago, Amy Jensen had more employment and educational experience than most Utah women her age. She had worked for years in victim advocacy and law enforcement, while raising a daughter on her own, but opportunities for advancement and better pay had dried up because she didn’t have a college degree.
In today’s recessionary times, older women are returning to Utah campuses in ever larger numbers. And many, such as Weber State University’s Amy Kunzler, have small children but no husband. Kunzler resumed college after her divorce so she would be able to support her three kids, ages 7, 9 and 10.
Early marriage is a commonly cited reason for Utah women dropping out of college in high numbers. Utahns, on average, marry young, and when babies arrive, the woman is often the one to abandon school to manage the domestic front and support the family.
But this sheds little light on why fewer Utah women than men enter universities out of high school. Madsen is stumped on that question, but a recent survey suggests many Utahns don’t believe a college education is as important for women. Salt Lake Tribune
