The Confidence Factor for Women: Higher Education and The Equal Pay Gap

Is the university system partially culpable?

I am a proud university graduate and international history scholar, with a concentration in European Parliamentary history and the Lome Convention. I was a proud fellow of the American Political Science Association, where I was able to share stages with presidential scholars such as Dr. Meena Bose and Dr. Bridget Welsh. My plan was to attend law school and become an intellectual property attorney, and patent historian.

I graduated university with an abundance of optimism and world travels to Europe to study more Parliamentary history. I was “told” by so many attorney’s in the field that with my history knowledge, I would be a valuable source on international trademark infringement law. I even took a trip to Manchester, UK to learn about sitting the QLTS before law school so I can practice abroad later in life.

Such high hopes were shattered by a lack of understanding the leadership and gender gap in the market. I had no idea that only 30% of women attorneys make partner. In addition, during my tenure in school, very few historians in the International History profession were ever offered tenured positions in the University system. Even worse, I found myself with multiple degrees and certifications in-hand, and going from one dead end job to the other.

In 2001, I practically lived in the Career Development office of my school on a massive job hunt, which best utilized my qualifications and education. One rejection after another as I was beginning to suffer with paper cuts on my thumbs from faxing resumes all day.

This is the journey for most college graduates, who have survived the college life of cup-o-noodle soup and fee internships. However, I was a woman finding closed doors in male professions. Years later, it dawned on me that after thousands of dollars invested attending some top notch universities in NYC, the one skill that they failed to focus on was women in leadership.

I spent the last year of college wasting my time away on electives that were not even close to my profession; and there were no electives, even in the women's studies department, about leadership. Tens of thousands of dollars later, I celebrated a great graduation day and get let out like the a pack of wolves to find my way through the professional challenges that most women face. I accepted jobs where I was underpaid and undervalued. There was one firm that asked me to stop wearing perfume, while I was still earning just enough for more cup-o-noodle soup almost 2 years after graduation.

There were no classes on negotiation, leadership, professional advocacy, etc. I used all of my electives as a senior on hand painting and paleontology studies, which are not related to my professional ambitions.

Today, the average graduate is drowning in almost 6-figures of student debt and face the same challenges. In addition, with the rise of startups, and the absence of women in the VC and capital raise boom of the start up world, who is holding the university system accountable? Women are highly ambitious and willing to sacrifice for success, but if you are equipped with ONLY academic credentials, how do women find themselves in the marketplace?

I was a young woman searching for a seat at the table, and highly unprepared. There is a gap between the academic world and the real world when it comes to women. They reinforce our confidence by discussing what our earning potential can be, but no roadmap to get there in hyper masculine professions and business models.

Remember, as the admissions department continues to enroll more women who have high levels of ambition, universities around the world are least likely to advise women before they enter the market of some of the pitfalls in the market regarding equal opportunity. With student debt at an all time high, women borrowers face a longer road ahead to repayment due to the gender gap.

Every university we have pitched the Confidence Factor for Women in Leadership to has expressed interest but do not believe students would be interested in learning about leadership, while they are still “having a great time networking and enjoying their youth on campus,” (yes, that is an actual response). However, who holds the university system accountable for women job seekers, close to graduation, who are still eating cup-o-noodle soup because they do not know there is a gender value deficiency and a practical solution that can be taught at the undergraduate and graduate level?

— — Think about it.

Carol Sankar is a high level business consultant and the founder of The Confidence Factor for Women in Leadership, which is a global executive leadership firm focused on diversity and inclusion initiatives for high level women. Carol has been featured at TEDx, The Steve Harvey Show, Bounce TV, Inroads, The Society for Diversity, SHRM, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, Forbes and more. For more details, visit www.carolsankar.com.