The traditional college president is often though of as a man in an office who spends time looking at reports, hosting meetings with leaders on campus and attending events.
However, the landscape of higher education is not dominated by men like many stereotypes influence us to think. Women are a major part of Higher Education.
As noted in the infographic below, women are a key part of the industry of higher education. These women are leaders, influencers and are part of the student and professional experience.
Twenty-eight percent of college and university presidents are women. At the rate of their current growth, it will take 48 years to reach half of the presidencies in the united states. This is not reflective of the rate of students who are women in higher education.
According to Forbes.com, 57% of college students are women. The percentage of women is fairly consistent in public institutions. Specially, when compared state by state, the averages are different by specific state. One ratio of note is that 61% of college students in Rhode Islands are women.
Additionally, female faculty members make 19% less than their male counterparts. These statistics support the argument that there is a distinct disconnect between the number of women who are students in higher education and the women in leadership roles at those institutions.
Perceptions are reality. In a world where you see women as an cornerstone of campus, it can influence the student experience and perception of who is in those higher roles. It can change how students view an educational system based on traditional roles that administrators serve and the people in those roles.
Resources used:
Student Perspectives of University Presidents 
I genuinely agree with your post! It was very insightful. I find it so interesting and infuriating that even though 57% of college students are women, females make 19% less than men. It is truly unfair and I hope one day that there will be equality among men and women, not only in the workforce, but throughout all aspects in life. I found it interesting how you commented on perception. I have never thought about it until reading your post, but after reading, I agree with what you said. In a world where women can and are playing a key role in higher education, such as a president of a university, can definitely have an impact and break the “traditional” roles that we are so accustomed to. I hope to see change one day.
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Hello!
Thanks for reading! I am glad you liked the content. Hopefully one day you’ll be able to inspire change in your community to redefine roles!
Have a great day!
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This post is fascinated to me the most. When I clicked into this article, the first thing that went into my eyes was a colorful graph showing some statistics about the percentage of women in higher education. It is obvious for audience to see that more and more women are getting involved in higher education. In fact, I learned a lot from this little diagram. I didn’t even think about women accounting for a large portion of all the college presidents. I thought male presidents are dominant in this field, and it is rare that we have a female president in our university. But now, I know women can also contribute to higher education. The information below that graph is broken down into many small paragraphs, which is easy for me to read. From this article, it is glad to realize that women are as important as men in higher education. We can be leaders, influencers and we can also become the cornerstone of campus. Undoubtedly, women play an important role in higher educational systems and we could do what men can do! I like this article, as it is informative and I learned a lot.
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Hi Jiaying!
Thanks for your thoughts on the post. I agree that it really brings a lot into perspective. I appreciate you taking the time to review the image. Maybe you’ll be one of the women that makes a difference!
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The thought that only 27% of college presidents are women shocks me when the majority of students at universities are women. As a woman, I’m grateful that I’m fortunate enough to receive an education, but I still think we have much further to come. There must be a change when female faculty make 19% less than their male colleagues. In my opinion, women should be more represented in leadership positions at universities. I’m proud that at Kent State University where I attend we have a woman as our president.
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Hey Sarah!
Thanks for your comment. I’m really glad to hear that the post stuck with you! Maybe you’ll be one of those women leading a university, who knows!
Thanks!
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