Education for women's liberation

One hundred years ago, women who wanted an education were referred to by the derogatory term "bluestocking'' because they were seen as trying to imitate academic men who, at the time, generally wore blue stockings. The first wave of the women's liberation movement, which demanded formal equality for women in all spheres, including education, forced open the hallowed halls of the university and started to break apart the limitations of married life for women. At that time, women who entered university came only from the ruling class. After World War II, however, this changed.

Capitalism's increasing demand for better skilled workers dramatically altered the role of the university. Large numbers of children from the middle and working classes began to attend university to prepare them for their working lives. The prevailing sexism in society meant that women were still under-represented as university students.

It was only from the late 1970s in Australia, with the combined impact of the second wave of the women's liberation movement and the introduction of free education that women comprised 50% of the university student population. In 1989, the Labor federal government began to reduce access to education with the imposition of the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS). While the number of women entering university has not declined significantly since then, the difficulties faced by women who do enter have definitely increased.

National Union of Students' research three years ago revealed that, because women workers are still concentrated in the lowest paid and least secure jobs, one in four women students will still be paying off their HECS debt by the time they are 65 years old, compared to only one in 25 men. Under the Howard government, the drive towards a more privatised education system has been escalated. The impact of this government's education policies will be particularly bad for women.

The "Learning for Life'' discussion paper from the West Review indicates the direction the Coalition would like to take higher education. The report advocates greater differentiation between universities because "not everyone can be a Harvard in Australia''. The effect of this would be an entrenching of elite universities as the most prestigious, and the withdrawal of funds and resources to the smaller, newer or more regional universities.

In a more competitive, market-driven, fee-based university system, the choices and opportunities for women, who are generally poorer than men and more constrained in their choice of education by family responsibilities and/or the stereotypes defining the "appropriate'' courses for their sex, will be further restricted. One of the most insidious attacks on women's ability to study has been the erosion of income support for students. The raising of the age of independence for Austudy to 25, for instance, will mean that many more young women who wish to study will have to rely on their parents' willingness and ability to fund their studies. Lowering the level of income support for students will also deter working women, already concentrated in lower paying and less secure jobs, from taking time off work to study. For most women with young children, the cuts to child-care funding and the resulting fee increases, rule out altogether the possibility of studying full or part-time.

Women's liberationists have always demanded, not only that women be given equal access to education, but also that course content be purged of sexist assumptions and better reflect the history, experiences and aspirations of women. The gearing of education more to the needs of industry threatens the gains made in this regard. Women's studies courses are being de-funded, as are courses like classics, anthropology and languages in which women predominate. Howard's tirades against "political correctness'' do not bode well for the maintenance of government funding to courses which incorporate a feminist perspective.

Education is a right. The ability of women and other socially disadvantaged groups indigenous people, non-English speaking migrants and working class people to obtain a full education is a direct measure of social justice, and feminists, as fighters for social justice, must defend that right. Zanny Begg - Brisbane