Who-Stole-Feminism.-How-Women-Have-Betrayed-Women

160 WHO STOLE FEMINISM?1793 is a milestone for demonstrating valuable linkages betweenfeminist research and policy in investigating gender discriminationin education. 11That the linkages are of value to those doing the research is unquestionable.What is highly questionable is the value and integrity of theresearch and the way the advocates have deployed the "findings" to activatethe United States Congress.Are girls really being insidiously damaged by our school systems? Thatquestion actually remains to be investigated. Everyone knows we need toimprove our schools, but are the girls worse off than the boys? If one doesinsist on focusing on who is worse off, then it doesn't take long to seethat, educationally speaking, boys are the weaker gender. Consider thattoday 55 percent of college students are female. In 1971, women received43 percent of the bachelor's degrees, 40 percent of the master's degrees,and 14 percent of the doctorates. By 1989 the figures grew to 52 percentfor B.A.'s, 52 percent for M.A.'s, and 36 percent for doctoral degrees.Women are still behind men in earning doctorates, but according to theU.S. Department of Education, the number of doctorates awarded towomen has increased by 185 percent since 1971. 12The Wellesley study gives a lot of attention to how girls are behind inmath and science, though the math and science test differentials are smallcompared to large differentials favoring girls in reading and writing. Onthe National Assessment of Education Progress Tests (NAEP), administeredto seventeen-year-olds in 1990, males outperformed females bythree points in math and eleven points in science. The girls outperformedboys by thirteen points in reading and twenty-four points in writing. 13Girls outnumber boys in all extracurricular activities except sports andhobby clubs. Almost twice as many girls as boys participate in studentgovernment, band and orchestra, and drama or service clubs. More girlswork on the school newspapers and yearbooks. More are members ofhonor and service societies. 14Boys far outnumber girls in sports, but thatgap is narrowing each year. In 1972, only 4 percent of girls were in highschool athletic programs. By 1987 the figure was up to 26 percent, morethan a sixfold increase. 15On the purely academic front, progress continues apace. The UCLAHigher Education Research Institute's annual survey of college freshmenshows more women (66 percent) than men (63 percent) planning topursue advanced degrees. 16The UCLA data show a tripling in the per-