PAGE TURNER
by Lindsey A. Higgins and Tony W. Cawthon
I
n Women & Gender in Higher Education: Looking Forward, Looking Back, author Ann Wendle provides a thorough analysis of the history of women’s experiences in higher education; the ways in which higher education as an institution has neglected to provide proper support to women-identifying students, faculty, and staff; and how women have strategically organized to work towards creating a more equitable landscape. The purpose of this book is to examine the lived experiences of women in higher education through interviews, observations, and experiences of women from the 1970s to beyond 2020. Wendle contends that sexism in America is a pervasive and complex system of oppression that infiltrates all aspects of our society, including educational institutions, and must be met with an equally complex approach to analyzing and dismantling harmful practices.
The book consists of eleven chapters divided into three sections: (a) Women in Higher Education, (b) Lived Experiences of Women Past and Present, and (c) Theoretical Approaches. The first section, which comprises the first three chapters, presents the history of women in higher education, insight into promotion and tenure practices, and a review of programming and resources. Chapter 1 covers the history of women in higher education, offering a foundation upon which readers can build their knowledge and understanding through subsequent chapters. Readers who are not critically aware of the historically discriminatory and abusive treatment of women in higher education may want to read the book in chronological order. This opening chapter compels readers to confront the reality that higher education itself was initially designed solely for men’s intellectual and professional advancement and participated in purposeful discrimination against women-identifying and feminine-presenting individuals. Chapter 2 provides examples of these toxic practices, specifically the disproportionate and unfair promotion and tenure practices that favor male-identified faculty and staff. Chapter 3 concludes the section by highlighting the shortcomings of higher education institutions in providing proper resources for women and offers an overview of notable and highly influential programming and resources that have come out of women’s and gender centers and women faculty who aim to advance gender equity on college and university campuses.
The second section of the book comprises five chapters touching on the lived experiences of women in higher education, the impacts of identity, women’s struggle against socialization and bias, the infamous analogy of women seeking a seat at the table, and the pressure on women to assimilate to an inherently biased system. Based on the contextual foundations discussed in the first three chapters, Chapter 4 provides a condensed literature review of historical documents and interviews in which women detail their lived experiences and the key themes outlined in those experiences in the context of higher education. Though Wendle notes that cisgender, heterosexual, white women dominate both the historical and contemporary narrative, the book does not attempt to center marginalized women’s experiences. Chapter 5 offers insight into the collective and individual identity development of women, noting that this learning often takes place in a college during a student’s transformative years. Specifically, Wendle highlights Mary Field Belenky and colleagues’ Women’s Ways of Knowing, Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Terrell L. Strayhorn’s concept of the sense of belonging, Arthur W. Chickering’s theory of psychosocial development, William Perry’s theory of ethical and intellectual development, and Marcia Baxter Magolda’s theory of self-authorship. Wendle expands on the impact of identity in Chapter 6 by analyzing the societal pressures and expectations placed on women through socialization, gender roles, and gendered messaging, which impact women in higher education by creating barriers and setting up gendered career paths and areas of academic study.
Chapter 7 examines the familiar analogy of minoritized communities seeking to “find a seat at the table” or gain access and equity in a particular institution. Wendle asserts that while women might have achieved what she coins “visual equity” or a seat at the table, they lack the proper support structures to reach true equity in higher education. Further, the burden of justification for and development of these kinds of programs and resources has been placed on women themselves, adding to the weight of the cumulative exploitation, abuse, and neglect that women students, faculty, and staff experience. In Chapter 8, Wendle speaks to the “positional dichotomy of [women] assimilating to an inherently biased institutional system” and subjecting themselves to internalized sexism or fighting for equity and advocating for themselves and other women at the risk of being painted in a negative light by the institution itself. Furthermore, the author depicts the “oppressive assimilation effect” as a tool that helps to uphold the Cis Male Hegemonic Patriarchy itself by allowing individuals who are compliant to gain access to limited privileges, which can then be falsely presented as a movement towards equity.
In the third and final section of the book, divided into three chapters, Wendle guides the reader through tangible ways that individuals working in higher education can build a more equitable environment for women, as well as an exploration of various theoretical frameworks, contemporary and historical research, and ways that theory can be adapted and applied to practice. Chapter 9 highlights the feminist paradigm and feminist theory as the complex and intersectional approach needed to disrupt the Cis Gender Hegemonic Patriarchy. While feminism has been criticized as being disjointed, Wendle asserts that the adaptability and fluidity of feminism can be rebranded as a strength and applied to each office, department, and institution by considering the context and the nuances and variability of women’s experiences.
Chapter 10 applies this feminist lens to explore how research has been weaponized against women in higher education. Predominantly male institutions favor quantitative research, which is important to note since women have been socialized to gravitate towards qualitative research and tend to be more relational in terms of their ways of knowing, a nuanced level of understanding that is not often depicted through quantitative research. This issue is problematic as the burden of researching the needs and experiences of women in the college and university setting falls on women and is too easily disregarded by a predominantly male institution. In Chapter 11, Wendle extends a call to action, proclaiming that institutional transformation can occur through intentional action at the institutional and national levels. She centers consideration for identity development and the deployment of change models in extending implications for research, highlighting implications for practice and outlining next steps for higher education professionals.
We believe that this book offers excellent insights for housing professionals to reflect on the ways in which they are currently supporting women residents and colleagues, consider areas for growth, and be intentional in their practice and their use of resources. This book calls upon those working in higher education to actively engage in conversation and dialogue about the ongoing effects of sexism and then to act by reimagining policies, practices, and procedures in both personal and professional circles of influence in the name of equity and social justice.
The discussion questions and suggested strategies at the conclusion of each chapter offer a great starting point for dialogue about comprehensive support and equitable practices rooted in social justice. These questions would be excellent small group dialogue prompts for resident assistant training and hall programming. Delivered in an engaging and helpful format, this book educates readers on the lived experiences of women in higher education. While each chapter stands alone and can be read independently, we would suggest reading them in order and in their entirety in order to truly understand these lived experiences. We believe that this book could be utilized as a tool for analyzing the inequities embedded in higher education that directly impact the experience of residents, student staff, and colleagues and would make an excellent selection for staff development.
Lindsey A. Higgins is the interpersonal violence prevention coordinator and a graduate student in the Student Affairs M.Ed. program at Clemson University in South Carolina. Tony W. Cawthon is an alumni distinguished professor of student affairs and director of graduate studies at Clemson University. "Page Turner" is a recurring column that pairs Cawthon with a graduate student or professional colleague as they review books and scholarship of interest to campus housing and student affairs.
