Republican presidential candidate and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum recently said that President Obama was a “snob” for wanting Americans to be able to access higher education. You would think that would be something that pretty much everyone can agree on – -the value of education — but since Obama said it, there’s always going to be that push-back from the other side. At this point, if Obama said publicly that he liked puppies or ice cream, there would probably be some Republican willing to say that puppies or ice cream are snobby, elitist things.
But let’s focus on the value of higher education, especially for women.
First of all, it’s funny that Santorum even said this, considering that he has a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and a Juris Doctor. He actually has more advanced degrees than Obama. In the past, he also wanted higher education to be accessible to the good people of Pennsylvania, as seen on this page from a 2006 campaign website.
Second of all, Obama didn’t mean that every single American should go to a traditional four-year university, either. He’s been an advocate for two-year schools, community colleges and vocational training schools, which are all very useful in providing all kinds of education to all kinds of people.
“I’m also talking about going to community college to get a degree for a manufacturing job where you have to walk through the door to handle a million-dollar piece of equipment,” he said recently.
Finally, Santorum’s own mother didn’t seem to think it was snobby to go to college. She went as far as getting a master’s degree in an era where many women did not seek higher education at all.
Mrs. Santorum may have had the right idea. According to a U.S. News and World Report study on how higher education impacts lifetime salaries, women generally have to get a Ph.D in order to match the lifetime wages earned by a man who just has a bachelor’s degree. The study does not distinguish the inequality faced by women of color, though; it just says women. A woman with a bachelor’s degree generally will make as much as a man who went to college but didn’t graduate. This study of U.S. Census figures from Good magazine breaks the wage gap down by month instead of by lifetime, but finds the same thing: in every field at every level, men make more money than women.
The glass ceiling is still firmly ensconced in place and there aren’t too many answers as to how to break it, except for women to collect more degrees or go into certain fields. (The fact that not every woman wants to, or is able to, go into fields like engineering is apparently a non-issue here.)
I was raised in a very pro-education environment. My mother was the only one of her female siblings to go to college. Thirty years later, she went back and got her master’s degree. My father also has a bachelor’s and master’s degree. For me, college wasn’t a “what if,” it was a “when,” and as a result I hold a bachelor’s degree. So, it looks like I get to earn as much as a man who didn’t finish college, unless I too decide to seek a master’s degree or even a doctorate someday.
Because of this, I believe that education is a good thing and is especially important for women. As discussed above, apparently women have to try harder and achieve more just to be on the same level as men who have achieved less than them. Is this fair? No, it absolutely is not. Society should level the playing field and award all women the exact same pay as men for the exact same work. Unfortunately, instead of attacking the problem from that angle, the “women just have to work harder and do more than men” opinion is wrongly favored.
If Santorum does prevail in the longest primary fight I’ve ever personally seen, I fear that he will bring with him this regressive attitude where higher education is bad for everyone else, although it certainly served his family well. That could also hurt the chances of eventual wage equality for women. Thankfully, it seems like his “snob” comment has at least put a spotlight on this educational inequality issue–now it’s up to the people in power to hopefully start fixing things.
Which, of course, would make us all a bunch of snobs. In that case, I’m going to embrace it.
In addition to being a snob for having a college degree and believing in the value of the education that is right for everyone, Emma Harger is a young journalist who lives outside Atlanta.