All Women Colleges: The Rage of Times - Gauri Puranik

In the past four decades, the Women’s Movement, changes in demographics and technology and maturity in civic sense has made ‘women education’ a necessity rather than a government initiative. However, while success has been met the world over for primary and to some extent secondary education, the same cannot be said in the case of higher-level studies and professional education. Professional education is especially important as it facilitates active and practical learning.

Considering this, many education institutions the world over are promoting all women colleges. (See list below). These educational institutions work with a single objective of education and advancement of women. In India, schools like IIM Bangalore, SNDT Women’s University and Mount Carmel College are at the forefront of professional education for women. Another school with the ‘women’s’ cause is SP Jain Institute of Management at Mumbai. SPJIMR in collaboration with Times Foundation and Women's Movement for Peace and Prosperity launched the "Diploma Program in Political Governance for Women ". Schools like Simmons College, USA, is in fact one of the few all women MBA B-schools. In spite of offering quality education, the college faced stiff competition from other co-ed schools and was labeled as offering a ‘soft’ MBA programme. The school’s dean Deborah Merrill-Sands immediately set to the task of getting the school AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) accredited, viewed as a gold standard for B-schools. The AACSB accreditation dismissed the gender stereotype views held by many.

We all come across statements like ‘Women are bad with numbers’, ‘Women can’t read maps’, ‘Women don’t understand the ‘Big Bang Theory’’, ‘Women are best at selling beauty products.’ – The reason why women are in less numbers in fields like Business, Science and Math is not because they are incapable of learning these subjects, but because the way in which they are taught these subjects (the same is true for men and the way in which they are taught arts and literature.). The culprit is thus not the ability, but the attitude. While many debate the necessity for all women schools, the proponents of women colleges believe that though men and women are equal, they are not the same and hence the need to teach women in an environment that is conducive to their learning. Women's colleges have women-centered pedagogies, curricula, and environments – including female role models and leadership opportunities. Their core values are based on social justice, equality, human dignity, and ensuring the power of educated women to continue to influence society.

Though few in numbers, many education institutions in India and abroad, plan to provide exclusive professional programmes for women in future. Supporting such institutes are sponsors from the corporate, scientific and political setups who believe that women can bring in remarkable contributions to these respective fields by applying the strength of their intellect and their emotional quotient.

The 21st century woman has to face it all: A low birth ratio, social constraints for basic education, economic disadvantage for higher education, the continuous tightrope walk between family and work responsibilities which results in premature career death and a subtle brain drain. But women still manage to find their way through this labyrinth of obstacles and achieve ‘success’. That’s when we see the likes of Kiran Bedi, Indra Nooyi, the late Kalpana Chawla, Chanda Kocchar etc. So perhaps one should never underestimate the strength of a woman. Every woman has the potential and just needs the right attitude and opportunities to leverage it.

Schools For Women