Creating Leaders, Shaping Careers

Women’s colleges in the United States offer students a safe and comfortable space to grow, thrive and be nurtured in their vocations. (Photograph courtesy Barnard College)

Women’s colleges in the United States have a long history of championing equity and access. During the 19th century, as more women sought higher education, they had to reckon with the fact that only 30 percent of U.S. colleges were coeducational. With a majority of institutions accessible to only men, pioneering individuals began to establish colleges specifically for women, to provide them with a curriculum as rigorous as those studied by men.

The number of U.S. women’s colleges has declined from over 200 in the 1960’s to 30 today, according to the Women’s College Coalition. Yet, despite the decline in numbers, women’s colleges have “never been more relevant since women and gender minorities continue to face societal barriers and deep-seated biases,” says Anjali Anand Seth, associate vice president of international admissions at Wesleyan College in Georgia, the first institution chartered to grant degrees to women.

Cultivating networks and leaders

Today, women’s colleges offer students a safe and comfortable space to grow, thrive and be nurtured in their vocations. Ishita Tibrewal from Kolkata, who is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, says, “From the moment I stepped onto the campus, I was enveloped by a nurturing and empowering community, where camaraderie and solidarity among students were palpable.”

Studying alongside like-minded women fosters supportive ties with peers and mentors. This environment empowers students, strengthening their belief in their potential, helping them find their voice and get into their stride in the chosen field.

Encouraging women in leadership roles is a key focus for many of these institutions. Some colleges integrate leadership training and resources into their programs and centers.

Tibrewal served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, worked in diverse on-campus roles, attended national National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Student-Athlete conferences and interned at the U.S. Open tennis championship. “Each experience contributed significantly to my growth and prepared me for my current role,” she says.

After Mount Holyoke, Tibrewal continued her education at the Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst, until 2023. She now serves as the director of marketing and sponsorship analytics with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

Strong networks at women’s colleges also facilitate career success, including in STEM fields where women are underrepresented. This is evidenced in the story of Suneeta Krishnan, an epidemiologist, who graduated from Barnard College in 1992 and is now the deputy director for strategy, portfolio management and evaluation at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s India office.

At Barnard, “small classes, faculty commitment to women and opportunities to work with professors one-on-one, including in a lab setting, all helped me build my confidence to pursue my dreams,” says Krishnan.

It was the Barnard network that supported Krishnan in her journey. “When my first-year seminar professor learned about my interest in becoming an epidemiologist, she invited me to dinner with her husband (who later became the dean of the Harvard School of Public Health) and two leading epidemiology professors at Columbia,” she says. “I ended up taking a graduate course in epidemiology during my senior year, which propelled me right into a Ph.D. program at Berkeley.”

Studies show that alumni from women’s colleges tend to lead the way and push the envelope in boardrooms, government, science, the creative industries and beyond. As Seth notes, “It is no exaggeration that women’s colleges offer a safe space for women to learn and lead so that they can change the world.”

Deborah Rosario is a senior EducationUSA adviser in Mumbai.

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