While women are achieving equal levels of education as their male counterparts, most women lag behind men in terms of high leadership positions, according to an annual Global Gender Gap report released by the World Economic Forum. AU students and working mothers said they believe there remains a disparity between women and men in the workplace.
Studies have repeatedly shown that people still consider a woman's place to be in the home, according to Linda Patterson, a School of Public Affairs professor who is actively involved in the Women and Politics Institute.
"Families are still the major constraint for women," she said.
Patterson said she hopes a Democratic Congress will result in more governmental consideration for women's needs.
Habib Awan, a junior in the School of Communication, said he thinks more governmental involvement could undermine creativity and advancement in the workplace. Women should pursue an alternative path to success, Awan said.
"A lot of women are still seeking positions in an established hierarchy that won't accept them," he said. "Why not seek opportunity by starting your own business?"
For women to advance, they should demonstrate they can be just as "gung-ho" as men in the workplace, said Connie Chang, a sophomore in the School of International Service.
"There is still a bias in the United States that women do not have the same emotional fortitude as their male counterparts," she said.
"You have to realize that you are three-legged stool," she said. "You have your family, yourself and your work and unless you maintain all three legs, soon the stool will collapse."
David Tannenbaum, a senior in SIS, said corporations could be more willing to hire male employees, as they are more likely to continue working even if they choose to have a family.
"It's about economic efficiency," he said. "A business doesn't want to hire someone who may have to quit a few years from now, or take maternity leave."
While men may be more willing to stay at home now, women still make 77 cents to every dollar of a man's salary, so families are forced to make a decision, Patterson said.
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