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Facts on educational equity for African American women and girls

• In general, research has shown that white male students receive most teacher attention, followed by minority males, white females, and minority females. African American females are least likely to receive clear academic feedback. (L. Phillips, The Girls Report: What We Know and Need to Know About Growing Up Female, National Council for Research on Women, 1998)

• Sexual harassment is also a major issue for African American girls, who report experiences as early as elementary school. In the landmark 1993 survey by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Educational Foundation, more than four of every five girls—85 percent—in grades 8 to 11 experienced some form of sexual harassment. This was slightly higher than for boys (76 percent). More than half of the girls in the AAUW survey were harassed for the first time in middle school—34 percent experienced sexual harassment before seventh grade (42 percent were African American girls, 40 percent Latina girls, and 31 white girls). And 10 percent of Latina girls were harassed before the third grade. (American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, Hostile Hallways: The AAUW Survey on Sexual Harassment in America’s Schools, AAUW Educational Foundation, 1993)

K-12 Education

• Between 1980 and 1997, the high school graduation rate for African American women went from 52 to 77 percent—a 25 percent increase. (The 1997 graduation rate for white women and men was 86 percent, and 55 percent for Latinas and Latinos.) (U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census)

• Fourteen percent of African American women dropped out of high school in 1997 (the most recent data available) compared to 23 percent of Latinas and 7 percent of white women. (National Center for Education Statistics, Trends in Educational Equity of Girls & Women, 2000)

• For African American girls, as for other girls, pregnancy and/or parenting are the leading reason they give for dropping out of school: 43 percent of female dropouts cite marriage and/or pregnancy. Specific factors that seem to influence more female than male dropouts include having a large number of siblings, their mother’s educational level, low academic achievement, and low self-esteem. (U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, "Teenage Pregnancy and Parenthood Issues Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972," 1992)

• Summarizing the research, the National Council for Research on Women reported that African American girls, unlike Latina and white girls, demonstrate high self-esteem in high school. However, while older Black girls reported high levels of personal feelings of self worth, they experienced less positive feelings toward their teachers and schoolwork than Black elementary school girls. (L. Phillips, The Girls Report: What We Know and Need to Know About Growing Up Female, National Council for Research on Women, 1998)

• Mathematics, science, and technology are critical areas of study for the jobs of tomorrow. However, fewer than 33 percent of participants in computer courses and related activities are girls. Additionally, girls comprise only about 37% of students enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) computer science classes across the nation, and last year were only 9 percent of the students who took the advanced AP computer science exam for college credit. (Breakdowns were unavailable by race.) (American Association of University Women, Gender Gaps: Where Schools Still Fail Our Children, 1998 and Tech-Savvy: Educating Girls in the New Computer Age, 2000)

Postsecondary Education

• Fourteen percent of African American women 25 years or older (and 13 percent of African American men) has four years or more of education. About 24 percent of the U.S. population 25 years or older has four years or more of education; that figure is 29 percent for white males and 24 percent for white females; 10 percent for Latinas and 11 percent for Latinos. (Data are not available for Native Americans.) (U.S. Department of Education, 1998 Digest of Education Statistics)

• Fifty-one percent of African American women 25 years and older who head households and have exactly 12 years of schooling live below the poverty line. But, with only one year of postsecondary education, the percentage of those families living in poverty is cut by more than half, to 21 percent. (B. D. Proctor, "Poverty," Poverty and Wealth Statistics Branch, U.S. Census Bureau, based on Current Population Reports, series P60-188, Income, Poverty, and Valuation of Noncash Benefits: 1993)

Athletics

• Participation of girls and women in interscholastic and intercollegiate athletics has skyrocketed since the early 1970s. African American and white girls are equally likely to participate in sports, but white girls are three times as likely as African American girls to be involved in sports through a private organization. Most low-income girls of color have sports opportunities through schools, recreation departments, and other nonprofit agencies. (J. Weiler, "The Athletic Experiences of Ethnically Diverse Girls," ERIC/CUE Digest 131, 1998)

• Limited resources, combined with lack of diverse sports opportunities, have contributed to the overrepresentation of African American girls in track and field and basketball, thus "perpetuating racial stereotyping that they naturally excel at only certain sports." (A. F. Manley, M.D., M.P.H, Acting Surgeon General, "Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General," Centers for Disease Control, March 1997)

• Reports indicate that "predominantly Black colleges are having more difficulty making progress toward gender equity in athletics than are most other members of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association." The Chronicle of Higher Education’s data showed that at 18 of the 20 predominantly Black colleges in Division I, the proportion of female athletes was at least 19 percentage points lower than the proportion of female undergraduates, and that at 7 predominantly Black colleges, the proportion of athletes was at least 30 percentage points lower than that of female undergraduates. (J. Naughton, "Title IX Poses a Particular Problem at Predominantly Black Institutions," Chronicle of Higher Education, February 20,1998)

Employment Outcomes

• Within the few broad occupational categories in which women continue to be concentrated, further segregation also exists by race. For example, the occupations with the highest concentrations of African American women are nursing aides, cashiers, and secretaries; for Native American women it is welfare aides, childcare workers, and teacher’s aides; and for white women it is administrative support workers, dental hygienists and assistants, and occupational therapists. The three occupations with the highest concentrations of white men are executive and managerial workers, airplane pilots, and sales engineers. (U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census, Current Population Survey, March 1996, and U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Earnings, January 1997)

• Of the 22.7 million people in this country currently living in poverty, 14.1 million are female—4.5 million women and 9.6 million girls. Approximately one-third of families maintained by single women had an income below the poverty line. The proportion of female-headed households was higher for Latinas (51.6 percent) and African American women (49.9 percent) than for white women (29.2 percent). (Data were unavailable for Native Americans.) Although the poverty rate for whites was lower than for any other racial/ethnic group, the majority of poor people in 1993 were white (66.8 percent). African Americans constituted 27.7 percent of those in poverty, Latinos were 20.7 percent, and Asian and Pacific Islanders were 2.9 percent. (B. D. Proctor, "Poverty," Poverty and Wealth Statistics Branch, U.S. Census Bureau, based on Current Population Reports, series P60-188, Income, Poverty, and Valuation of Noncash Benefits: 1993)

• Some research shows that for African American females, early gender-role socialization is less sex-typed and African American girls may be more open to considering nontraditional careers. However, class and race bias, disillusionment about real job opportunities, internalized oppression, and continual discrimination can cause African American women and girls to lower expectations and efforts to make other choices. (G. Hackett and A.M. Byars, "Social Cognitive Theory and the Career Development of African American Women," Career Development Quarterly 44, no. 4 (1996) and W. Stitt-Gohdes, Career Development: Issues of Gender, Race, and Class, ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education Information Series no. 371, Center on Education and Training for Employment, Ohio State University, 1997)

• According to the Department of Labor, by 2008 women will increase their share of the labor force from 46 to 48 percent. Although the fastest labor force increase will be among Latinas and Asian American women, 49 and 46 percent, respectively, African American women will increase their participation by 21 percent and white women by 13 percent. As women become a larger share of the workforce, they must be prepared for the high-skilled, high-wage jobs of the future—for their own economic survival and for the well-being of the nation. (U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, 2000)