1987 Copyright 1987. The modern university has a broad constituency, which spans not only a significant range of socio-economical and racial groups, but also includes both genders. Thus, in asking how the university can best serve its various constituencies, it is crucial to examine gender-related issues that impinge on university education. While it might be argued that these are intrauniversity issues, the problem in fact reaches beyond the boundaries of the university, extending into other sociological domains including the interface of the university with the family.
Women now constitute a significant proportion of matriculants at most major academic institutions.
Women currently earn 50 percent of all bachelor's and master's degrees and 33 percent of Ph.D.s. This includes professional schools where the proportion of women has increased over the past decades. Despite the trend of increasing enrollment of women in academic institutions, existing support structures are not yet at the point where they fully facilitate involvement by women in the academic ecology. Many of these problems involve the university-family interface. Thus, for example, women students in some cases have significant family obligations, including parenting.