Education
Academic achievement at any age impacts
other areas of a person's life from likelihood of getting
involved in criminal activity to adequate health care. For
women, academic achievement has particular significance
for closing the wage gap that exists between men and women;
however, it is not simply enough for women to pursue an
advanced degree in a field traditionally dominated by women
like nursing or teaching. Women of all ages must begin to
examine careers in high-wage fields traditionally populated
by men such as science,
technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.
The American Association of University Women has extensive and valuable research related to women, girls and education.
Check out information
regarding degrees conferred, drop-out rates, higher education
staff salaries, and course enrollment among other data specific
to females in Iowa.
Title
IX says that schools must give all students who might
be, are, or have been pregnant (whether the student is a
parent or not) the same access to school programs and extracurricular
activities that other students have. Knowing and enforcing
the rights of pregnant
and parenting students in school is an important step
in dropout prevention.
Your Education
In planning for your higher education, it is important to begin exploring the potential careers that your education will make possible.
It is also worth educating yourself about a variety of issues related to higher education. Again, the American Association of University Women is an excellent resource for this purpose.
If you intend to pursue your education at one of the State of Iowa's institutions, it's never too soon to look at what they have to offer:
Your Daughter's Education
Like yourself, it is important to encourage
your daughter to explore non traditional aspects of her
education. Although Title
IX made it illegal to discriminate in education based
on gender, young women still have to take advantage of the
opportunities afforded to them now that weren’t as readily
available to their mothers and grandmothers.
It is a commonly held belief that Title IX is about athletic opportunity. On the contrary, it is much broader in scope and includes all sexism in education.
It is important to get involved directly with your daughter's education whether it be through helping her with homework, meeting her teachers, helping her pick classes or attending school board meetings. Learning about some of the safety issues she may be facing is vital.
Sexual
harassment in educational settings can seriously impact
your daughter's education. The American Association of University
Women has done extensive research on this topic including
its groundbreaking report, Hostile
Hallways.
Technological advances have made "cyberbullying"
by school peers as well as predatory
behavior by others via the internet a real concern for
parents as well. There are many resources
that can help you and your daughter learn simple tools for
staying
safe online.
On a wider scale, the Iowa Department of Education can provide information about a broad range of topics.
Paying for Education
How you pay for your higher education is one crucial piece of your planning. There are many sources for student AID:
The Friends of the Iowa Commission on
the Status of Women offers assistance as well:
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