Maggie's Audio for presentation

This discussion explores the perspectives of women and men on college success. Women often feel more pressure to succeed academically and work harder than men due to societal expectations. They also face challenges in the workforce, with lower earnings and limited opportunities in high-paying professions. Many women aspire to a traditional family life after college, while acknowledging the social pressure to do more. They often choose majors that align with their desire to balance work and family. On the other hand, men can feel threatened by women's professional aspirations, leading to competitive or abusive behavior. Men often prioritize their social lives over academics, which can discourage women from pursuing male-dominated careers. There is also pressure on men to be successful providers and protectors, which can lead to feelings of failure and insecurity. So I'm going to be discussing the female and male perspectives on college success, goals, expectations, and realities that we have drawn out from the readers from Inside Greek U written by DeSantis, starting off with the female perspective, work ethic and educational success. As stated by DeSantis himself and by the knowledge we have as students, females usually put more pressure on themselves in all aspects of life. We often see females put more effort in many things, but most of all our education. We worry about our grades, what professors think about us, how and when we study, and being prepared. This could be confused with being a bit more meticulous about others' perceptions of themselves, but as a woman myself and as other women know, we have to work harder to get what others or males for that matter are almost guaranteed. From the soccer moms and corporate dads chapter from Inside Greek U, DeSantis quotes Debra, a fourth year Spanish and business major, I know that I will have to do twice as good to only get half as far as a man. It's not fair, she continued, but that is the way it is. Following this, DeSantis added a quote from a third year political science major, John. He states, while he may not do good in school, one day he will have to make it. I know it. I guess I have always known it. To put this into perspective, I will explain some numbers to express this. Among the high school seniors who took the SAT test in 2000, 43% of the girls had an A average compared to the 33% of boys. Among high school seniors, 74% of girls devoted at least one hour a day to their homework compared to 57% of boys. The earnings of women full-time are 27% less than those men working full-time. While men hold the majority of high-paying professional positions, 70% are lawyers and physicians, 76% are architects, 80% of dentists are men. Women still disproportionately dominate the poor-paying, less prestigious professions. 98% of secretaries, 93% of nurses, 85% of librarians, 82% of elementary teachers are women. To add to this, from the Coastal Business Journal, an assessment of undergrad work ethic regarding employment and education, Mitchell Adrian writes, females are currently showing a higher rate of success in their academic ventures due to the fact that they are placing a higher rank on academics than the male counterparts. A woman's roadmap of life after education. Many women want their traditional wife life once they leave college. From the perspectives of some women, they want to stay at home and be a stay-at-home mom. DeSantis quotes Nancy, a Gamma English major, stating, school has been fun, but when I graduate, I really want the storybook life. I want a big house, a hot husband who makes a lot, beautiful kids, and credit cards. Women often see this as their most successful and happiest route of life because, stated earlier, women are not set up for success in the workforce. They are often more hardworking when it comes to preparation of work life, but they are never guaranteed success because the man is the model for this. Interesting but not surprising, the women that DeSantis interviewed for this discussion that expressed the want for the traditional life either awkwardly apologized or acknowledged the social pressure that they felt to do more with their life, with the knowledge in their minds that most of the time they will never be as successful in a corporate life just because of their gender. The working mother and woman. The incomplete and imbalance of life of being just a mom or being married to your job. Most women do not fit into one category of being a mom at home or wanting to have all your dedication to your career. Many want a job that allows them to provide for their families over their careers. Women that want this often select majors that align with this goal. Lindsay, a sophomore, declared education so that she could be at home when her kids were at home and spend her summers with her kids and watch them grow up. Some pick accounting, holding on to technology to benefit them, stating, accounting is something that I could do at home. You know, work in a firm for a few years to move everything at home and I can stay home with the kids. Some women go after professions that don't equally balance their families over their professions. Some women have the aspirations to go to med school or law school, again, while understanding that they have to work harder than men because it is known that men dominate those fields. How for the male outlook? Response to the working woman. While DeSantis was interviewing sorority girls, some of them added some comments about their boyfriend's reactions to their professional aspirations. Those men felt threatened, becoming competitive, and even sometimes abusive when the topic of their girlfriend's goals was mentioned. Denise added a comment that I believe provides a clear image of all female annoyance when we realize that we aren't set up for success professionally. She stated, the male ego is an effed up thing. One of the girls DeSantis interviewed had just broken up with a long-term boyfriend and she added, I appreciate all those he-man qualities about him. I mean, he's a real man's man, but with those qualities comes a lack of respect for my characteristics and my desire to be successful. The female desire is to not be financially protected by the male professional success and to what our culture believes to be the easy way out. But we want a partner, in this case, a male, who aspires to be successful, but at the same time, someone who also is going to appreciate and encourage us to do the same. How to study and be cool. Most men have an obsession with what their lives will be post-college. They imagine their lives to be filled with suit and ties, big paychecks, and the bragging rights to their wife to be a stay-at-home mom, because they are in absolutely no need of the other paycheck. The question is, if so many men are so driven to be successful, then why are they not putting in nearly half of the effort that women have proven to have in school? From the DeSantis group of fraternity brothers, the mindset of college balance was a healthy dose of beer and ESPN, or you would take the risk of being unemployed due to the lack of social ability. John, a fraternity brother, added his two cents and said, if you have a test the next day, then staying in is okay. But if you're just staying in to work on regular stuff every night, then you need to rethink why you're here. As college students, we understand the balance of social and academic dedication, but to have your priorities set on your social life and to disregard your education is a pure testament to why females are often discouraged to pursue a male-dominated career. If a female had this mindset, she would have no respect, but in the male world, there's an expectation to have this lifestyle. Finally, the pressure of making it. In some cases, these men don't make it. They end up not going to school they told everyone they were going to, still living with their parents, or scoring so low on the entrance exams that they couldn't continue with their plans. DeSantis quotes Wood, being a good provider with a socially prestigious and well-paying job is still the primary requirement for manhood. As a result of this, they feel as though they failed their masculinity, but still feel threatened by a woman putting in the work and achieving success. There is a cultural pressure that men have placed on them, becoming successful, being the provider and protector of their wife and children, and remaining masculine and tough through all those stages of life. But the pressure that is put on by men is from themselves, in the comparison of paychecks but also with the social status of which they kept their priority throughout their education.