Female Dominance

A triumph for equal rights, overcompensation, or something else altogether?

UCL has always been known as a leader in the world for leveling the playing field for races, religions, and gender.  UCL was the first university to allow women equal standing with the men in England.  Certainly I have heard championed by the administration here, the effort they put to consciously allow everyone the equal right to study.  And I have been pleasantly surprised at the result.

I am attending seven classes this semester (while only being assessed for 3).  And in each of these classes (all run by the Institute of Archaeology) there is a clear female student dominance in attendance.

In the Archaeological Photography class there are 3 men and 9 women.

In the Theory of World Archeology class there are 4 men and 13 women.

In the Cultural Heritage Class there are 5 men and 37 women.

In the Archaeology and Education class there are 3 men and 23 women.

In the Managing Archaeological Sites class there are 13 men and 30 women.

In the Managing Museums class there are 5 men and 50 women.

In the Egyptian Objects class there are 4 men and 10 women.

These numbers are more or less accurate over the two weeks we have had class already.  I am not sure where all the guys are.

Certainly this can be held up as a triumph for equal rights!  (And it has been to some degree.)  Some men might argue that there has been an overcompensation as men are clearly in the minority in (at least) these classes.  After all, the Institute or Archaeology is the one who reviews the applications and makes the decision as to who is allowed to come to UCL to study and who isn’t.

I am of a different mind.

I look at these numbers and marvel.  To be honest, I overheard the observation in one of my classes and that is when I started counting – before that I didn’t even notice.  I was shocked at the result (as listed above)!  But I don’t think UCL or the Institute of Archaeology (in this case) is in any way at fault.  I believe that all applications are examined equally and the very best students are selected.  This year, in these classes (and the Institute offers at the MA level approximately 93 classes so admittedly my 7 classes is a very small sample of this), there just happens to be more qualified female applicants interested in these topics then male applicants.  I don’t see a conspiracy or any sort of inequality to those of my gender.

In fact, my heart is warmed by these numbers.  Over the past few centuries (during which archaeology has grown into a recognized field of science) men have dominated.  To see this many women interested in archaeology and capable of performing the tasks at hand is a testament to the inclusiveness of the discipline.  I have worked with and under women in archaeology over the past four years and see no difference between them and the men I worked under and with.  If any difference does occur it is that the women are more exact and exacting.  In short, they do better work (again, a very small sampling – taken only from my experience).

If this result says anything about men vs women, in my mind, it is that men should work harder to achieve better results – the women are kicking our tails!