Nevertheless, women continue to trail their male counterparts in the areas of mathematics and science. This is something that I hope, through my position on the House Committee on Science, to help rectify. What is more, women are still underrepresented in doctoral and first professional degree programs, although, as the NCEC points out, women have made substantial gains in these areas during the last 25 years. There are other areas of education where improvements need to be made, most notably in the area of school access for so-called disadvantaged students. A group of disadvantaged students whose needs are often overlooked are homeless children.
Homeless children face unique problems when attempting to access a quality education.
Some schools do not allow homeless children to register for classes without school or medical records. Others will not enroll children without a home address, and there is nobody in the schools whose job it is to help them. As a result, homeless children wait days and even weeks just to get into the classroom. Obviously this has serious and negative consequences for their educational advantages. Mr. Speaker, some may be wondering why I am talking about homeless children during this recognition of the achievements of women.