Utah Women have lowest higher education rates in the Nation

[Anonymous]

Having been raised by two very strong women (my mother and her mother) who both went out and made their way in the world for various reasons, I made sure my wife had a college degree to fall back on. However, my wife pointed out something to me that I think some third-wave feminists may have missed: being a wife and mother is just as valid a career choice as anything else. So I support my wife in her desire to stay home and make sure the kids are watched over and cared for.

There are a couple of mitigating factors in this decision, however. My career puts me on the road for 150-200 days per year and the nature of travel is difficult to predict more than a few weeks out. Although it’s been rare, there have been a couple of occasions where I got a call from my boss and then had to catch a flight either that night or the next day. Therefore, I can’t say with any degree of certainty when I’ll be home. The other circumstance is that my son has multiple disabilities and is considered medically fragile. Although he attends school, one of us has to be available 100% of the time to pick him up from school in case of an emergency. These factors combined means its essentially impossible for my wife to work even if she wanted to.

Also, even though my wife has a degree, her degree is in Information Systems and she’s never used it since graduating over 10 years ago. Therefore, we both believe her degree is pretty-much worthless. This is why I carry a life insurance policy so hefty that I’m probably worth more dead than I am alive.

[Anonymous]

Steve-hpias wrote:

This is why I carry a life insurance policy so hefty that I’m probably worth more dead than I am alive.

You know, I feel the same way… “Worth more dead than I am alive” And I don’t even have any life insurance.

[Anonymous]

Steve-hpias wrote:

However, my wife pointed out something to me that I think some third-wave feminists may have missed: being a wife and mother is just as valid a career choice as anything else. So I support my wife in her desire to stay home and make sure the kids are watched over and cared for.

I totally agree with your wife. 100%!

[Anonymous]

I am wondering how to post a pdf to show additional info on the stats. The stats is about Utah women and Graduate Programs not High School and/or Bachelors degrees. So the Church may encourage education but the stats are showing that Utah has fallen behind all others states for women who actually graduate with a Masters or PhD. Most interestingly is that the biggest gap in money earned between Utah Women and Utah Men is Utah Women with Graduate degrees versus other states. What it shows is the Utah women are not choosing Math, Science, Engineering, Computers and Business as degrees. Unlike women in other states Utah women are still choosing education, health, cosmetology, liberal arts and humanities. These jobs are some of the lowest paying, hard to find jobs around. Women need to understand that if they get more education and training they may actually be able to work fewer hours and spend more time with their children.

Utahns get married sooner but more importantly, Utahns start families sooner and Mormons have the biggest families size out of any religious affiliation according to the Pew Forum. Since Utahs still only average 3 or 4 children versus 2 or 3, why cant they wait 2-4 years and finish their degrees and graduate school first? I read Fowlers latest book connected. Its a great read about how those two and three powers of separation really affect us. This includes women and what they will study in school and if they will get a graduate degree. I had a girlfriend who didnt get married until she was almost 40 (she was trying to marry for about 20 years). Every time her best friend got married she would cry, she said soon her girl friend would get pregnant and their common interests would fade and she once again would have to try to find new girls to hang with. It was very lonely for her being childless in Utah. The same could be said for being one of three girls in an engineering class. Peer pressure conscious or not doesnt end when we are teenagers.

[Author]

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