Smith & leadership development

Colleges and Universities A-Z Smith College
1

<p>Among the pitches made in the official Smith propaganda, it talks about environment where leadership for young women is fostered. I've got to say it's another point that's true.</p>

<p>In high school, while D could make some very shrewd observations about various management capabilities, she was never inclined to thrust herself forward into what she saw as a bunch of popularity games and was content to let others run things.</p>

<p>Sophomore year at Smith she went ahead and volunteered to be Treasurer for two different organizations (funny, everyone seems to think that Math majors are good at arithmetic but it doesn't necessarily follow) and for next year she ran from abroad and was elected chair of one her small student EC groups. File away under "developing potential."</p>

<p>Looking at the organization boards for this year and last, one phenomenon leapt out at me: because so many juniors are abroad, most leadership positions are filled by sophomores and seniors. Fwiw.</p>

2

<p>Although most of the Ivy League schools and other top LACs are at least 50% female, the preponderance of high profile leadership positions on these campuses go to men. It is news if the editor-in-chief of the Harvard Crimson is a woman. I don't know whether it is still true, but a male friend of mine who attended Vassar shortly after it went co-educational, said that although men were a distinct minority on campus key student government positions, newspaper editorships, debate team captaincy, etc. were held by men when he was there. Hopefully, that has changed. At Smith, and other women's colleges, all leadership positions are held by women! Stereotypes are broken and barriers non-existent.</p>