Gender Inequality and Post-Secondary Education in Canada

Gender Inequality and Post-Secondary Education in Canada INTRODUCTION Historically, gender differences have been at the core of social and economic injustice and women have faced fundamental disadvantages (Tepperman Curtis, 2011, p. 351). Despite recent changes in formal equality – the introduction of protection for women in the Constitution Act, 1982 and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, for example - informal barriers are still present which lead to the discrimination of women (Tepperman Curtis, 2011, p. 89). The Canadian education system has not been immune to the effects of discrimination towards women; in fact, some argue that schools have been a vessel for inequality (Knudson-Martin †¦show more content†¦362). An area that this theory may be placed emphatically is on the issue of gender inequality in the post-secondary educational system. Throughout Canadian history, females have been marginalized in the educational system. For example, before Confederation, young girls attended school with boys, but were often pu lled out of school in order to fulfill familial duties (Tepperman Curtis, 2011, p. 351). When these young women did attend school and show an interest in post-secondary education, they were guided into fields such as nursing and education (Tepperman Curtis, 2011, p. 351 Macneill, 2011). At one point in history, women were completely banned form attending medical school (a typically male-dominated field) (Tepperman Curtis, 2011, p. 351). Additionally, many of the most highly ‘skilled’ and well-paid jobs such as doctor and lawyer are still predominately held by males (Fausto-Sterling, 1992, p. 5 MacNeill, 2011). The discrimination of women in post-secondary education has had a direct influence on socioeconomic inequality between men and women. 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