The History of Women’s Education

For most of modern history, education has been something that men have had access to, while women have had to fight for their right to become educated. Thanks to the work of countless trailblazers who have spearheaded legal reform efforts and reshaped cultural norms, women’s education rights are in a much better place today than they ever have been.

Keep reading to learn more about the history of women’s education, including some of the first steps toward inclusion and reform, the breakthrough of women entering higher education, and where women’s education stands today.

Early Struggles and First Efforts

In the UK, upper- and middle-class girls were typically educated at home or in finishing schools. Working-class girls might attend religious or charity-run schools, but the quality of instruction was inconsistent and often limited to reading and sewing, with very limited opportunities to progress. A government inquiry in 1864 revealed there were only a dozen public secondary schools for girls across England and Wales.

The situation in the U.S. was similarly dire. With the exception of a couple of women’s colleges and early coed universities, the 1800s were primarily a time when women had few opportunities to pursue higher education.

But not everyone accepted this status quo. Women educators and activists began organizing to demand equal access to learning. Campaigns to improve girls’ schooling gained momentum in the 19th century, alongside broader efforts to professionalize women’s teaching roles and challenge the idea that education was a male domain.

Major Changes in the 20th Century

The 20th century brought major policy shifts and cultural changes that expanded women’s educational opportunities. In the UK, the 1944 Education Act made secondary education free and compulsory until age 15. The marriage bar—an outdated rule that forced many women to resign from jobs after getting married—was also dismantled by the 1944 Education Act. By 1961 in the UK, equal pay was gradually being introduced. And by 1975, the Sex Discrimination Act banned discrimination when promoting teachers, which allowed female teachers to be promoted more easily.

In the U.S., more colleges began opening their doors to women and granting them access to degree programs. Nearly 50% of colleges and universities allowed women by the year 1880, a number which rose to 58% by 1900. The change continued to gain momentum in the 20th century, and by 1934, 70% of undergraduates attended a coed university.

Many elite schools resisted going coed well into the second half of the century. Princeton and Yale didn’t admit women until 1969, followed by Brown in 1971 and Dartmouth in 1972. Columbia University held out until 1983. In some cases, male students responded in a way that was openly hostile. At Dartmouth, for example, students hung a banner reading “Better Dead Than Coed.” Yet despite the resistance displayed at some of the nation’s top Ivy League schools, the number of women enrolled in higher education in the U.S. rose steadily throughout the 20th century.

By the 1980s, women made up the majority of undergraduates—a trend that continues today. Thanks to the efforts of many organizers during the 20th century, women’s education looks much different in the U.S. than it did 100 years ago.

Where Women’s Education Stands Today

Today, women earn more college degrees than men. During the 2021–2022 school year, for example, women earned 59% of bachelor’s degrees and the majority of degrees at every level, from associate to doctorate. But that doesn’t mean the fight is over. Women still face challenges in higher education, both as students and as professionals. They make up only 47% of full-time university faculty in the U.S., and just 33% of those on the tenure track. For women of color, the numbers are even smaller—Black and Hispanic women hold only 4% and 3% of full-time faculty roles, respectively.

There are also continued issues with equal pay. Even with a college degree, women still earn less than men. In 2022, women with at least a bachelor’s degree made just 79 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earned. A big part of that gap comes from differences in the kinds of jobs men and women go into—fields dominated by men tend to pay more. On top of that, stereotypes and discrimination continue to steer women away from higher-paying areas like science and engineering.

Recently, efforts to support women in higher education have also taken a hit. Some colleges have shut down women’s centers or folded them into general student departments to comply with state laws that limit diversity programs. That means the progress women have made could be harder to protect in the years ahead. Despite the uncertainty, organizers and activists have shown over the centuries that their resilience outlasts resistance to change.

Written by Adam Wernham