Leslie.dicharry

Education of female minorities

Education is a part of life. Every individual would go through different grades/transitions to different levels of education. Majority of the world has children being educated and differs based on cultural, religious, and other ways. Some may be hindered from education due to their gender and ethnic background. Female minorities have rigorous and countless times when they strive to learn just as much as a male.

Historical Perspective

Travel back in time and compare if the educational system has shown equity towards female students that want to be educated. There are women in some countries that have struggled into gaining higher education due to the gender gap among African Americans (men and women). Focus on the higher attendance and completion rate of African American women vs African American men. Veronica G. Thomas and Janine A. Jackson discus in their article about the gender gap and that brings up a historical perspective on the establishment of schools for African American girls and women, focusing on notable institutions and relevant figures that have contributed to education in that context. The next analysis focuses on contemporary educational outcomes, graduation rates, standardized test scores, and the prevalence of school violence. It also highlights the postsecondary achievements of African American women, the challenges they face and how they are represented in academia. Lastly, the article provides recommendations to better understand, support, and assist with the success of African American girls and women.

Cultural Differences

Many cultures have views on women and how they may not be able to uphold the same standards as male students. Here is an example of what that has looked like for middle eastern women. This article, Predicting performance of Middle Eastern female students: A challenge for sustainable women., has research presenting if certain personal traits could predict early academic struggles in female students that are just starting their next step into universities. The researchers studied procrastination levels and self-confidence throughout the semester by having students self-report attendance, level of procrastination, and level of self-efficacy. These three measures are then correlated and compared to their grades in two general courses. The results show that students with higher self-efficacy are more likely to meet assignment deadlines. The article highlights the importance of attendance and presence in a class particularly in females for overall class grade. This article indicates how underserved groups, in this example middle eastern females.

This image is a projection of how these children cannot be placed in a classroom like other male students.

The findings of the study do have conclusive evidence to support the idea of attendance being the preeminent indicator of early academic indicators. It is important to note that the data collection method was self-reporting. Attendance is the only black and white factor of the three listed (procrastination, self-efficacy, and attendance). Self-efficacy and procrastination are harder to keep track of and quantify. This may limit the ability to compare them to attendance. The study does not note how additional factors such as socioeconomic status, prior academic achievement, and support systems also can affect a factor such as attendance. The positive in this study is a clear study on middle eastern students. Just because attendance has proven a good indicator for other culture groups does not mean it will also be the case for middle eastern.

Workforce Against Minority Women

The educational system has subordinated in different job fields. STEM and business are two areas that have barricaded women from receiving their full potential and grow in a position.

Zumrad Kataeva performed a survey of STEM field female faculty members post-Soviet Tajikistan in her article. The focus of the article is on the intersection of gender and educational attainment. Twenty-one women were interviewed in discussing how family, male mentors, and academic supervisors aided them in the challenges of gender stereotypes in STEM. It goes into detail of several consequential challenges, and has specific examples and stories tied into the specific cultural background of Tajikistan. There are several interpersonal stories that were shared to help analyze the data needed. They are difficult to coalesce into a cohesive and complete picture of the educational landscape in Tajikistan. However, this can also be in part due to the fact that there is a significant gap in research on gender dynamics in Tajikistan. The qualitative approach was done properly to uncover complex social phenomena where certain experiences or feelings have not been vocalized like in the West. In Tajikistan’s culture, there are pervasive expectations on women to primarily fulfill domestic roles; it is sometimes the first generation that learns to identify the new experience of the demands of an academic career. Using a questionnaire could have created strict wording instead of the fluidity of interviews. This allows the article to deeper answers because the women appear to feel more comfortable giving their answers in an interview style.

Business is a complex world to be apart of. There are many issues that business has against women; economic growth, gender equality, wealth status, etc. David Dollar and Roberta Gatti explore the determining if it is good for women through economic development. They see the impact and how it is affecting women, and they advocate gender equality as a targeted problem with economic growth. The purpose is to identify the question asked, “Are good times good for women?”. Some of the factors previously mentioned aid in concluding that good economic times are generally good for women, while economic growth helps to reduce gender inequality; however, effective gender equality must have careful and targeted policies. The article explores women’s education and health and highlights how much it is taken into consideration. The education and abilities of women should be considered equally important as those of men.

Educational Mindset

As pointed out through the entirety of this topic, female minorities are questioned for their education and other qualifications in gender equality. What should the educational mindset be? Should their educational mindset be limited because of their other expected roles they are given? This study dispels the idea that women's increased educational attainment is the principal cause of an increase in earnings inequality in the United Kingdom, and points instead to a change in male participation in the workforce. It also presents the results of a multivariate decomposition analysis, on the belief that women’s increased educational attainment, and increased participation in the workforce, have led to an increase in earning inequalities in the United Kingdom. The study assesses the effects of the changes in women’s education, participation in the labor force, and marital patterns on household earnings inequalities. The analysis's primary source is the UK Family Expenditure Survey, 1979-2000, and it considers economic and demographic factors, including all women, not only married women. It begins with a review of previous research and outlines the mechanisms through which women's education can influence inequality, discussing how increased educational attainment among women might lead to a higher participation of women in the labor force and educational homogamy, which in turn could affect household earning distribution. The authors provide a detailed description of the method, the data used, the motives of the selection of the UK case and data, which includes having the UK  experienced the highest European levels of income and earnings inequality together with the steepest increase, particularly during the 1980s (Atkinson et al., 1995), making the UK an informative case to study the combination of high female educational expansion and a high increase in earning inequality, and for the authors to test their new method to set precedent in future research. The conclusion provided in the form of a comprehensive assessment is limited by the specific context of the time and place of the data. The use of statistical methods to decompose (hence the name of multivariate decomposition analysis) changes in household earnings, provides a subtle way to challenge the assumption that the impact of women’s education on earnings inequality.  The results of this analysis, at least for the UK, showed that the increase in earning inequality was due to the growth of male household heads (or male partners of household heads) who were not working; the article points that this is in part of the decision to retire early.

Achievements awarded to women who faced challenges, like education and gender inequality.

The study provides multiple dimensions that allow for a wider view on this topic, including gender disparities, labor force participation, marital patterns. This article can serve as a base to understand the complexities of this issue.

Roles Women are Expected to Play

Women are often perceived to have specific roles in society. What do minority women want to do if they are given the freedom to make their own decisions? Well, one way they could decide on a career they would like to pursue. Judith Gill, Rhonda Sharp, Julie Mills, and Suzanne Franzway together examine the barriers faced by women in engineering fields using interviews and other research methods. The study emphasizes the importance of early success in mathematics and science for women ensuing for engineering degrees. Women are faced with challenges like lack of a positive self-image because of the unwelcoming environment by men and/or engineering firms. The research establishes specific issues by women and recommends educational strategies to foster a more inclusive professional environment. Women deal with obstacles in the workforce overall. It also has available research and data that was taken through interviews and other methods of research. Various women in this field of work and others highlight the narrow choices open accessible to them regarding their life decisions.