Startland EDU: Why Women Only Educational Opportunities Are So Important
When I look back to my youth development experience, one particular opportunity stands out. I had just started my freshman year at Harmon High School in Kansas City, Kansas. My friends and I heard about a Latina Summer Academy being hosted by the local universities, which meant we would get to spend time on campus over the summer. And, to add to the appeal, the Summer Academy was paid.
Until then, the only summer school programs I had been part of were enrichment programs … for some reason, speaking English as a second language meant I had to attend summer school. “Enrichment” is not the word I’d use to describe my summers, though. I resented going to summer school because, although I wasn’t a ‘bad kid’, I always felt like one for having to attend, as if I needed extra fixing. Unfortunately, the traditional summer school model still relays that message to students - “You are here because you didn’t quite cut it,” instead of summer school being positioned as a place to grow and get ahead.
Throughout the three summers I attended, the Latina Summer Academy challenged me in many ways. I was pushed out of my comfort zone and encouraged to see my female peers as collaborators, not competitors - something every woman knows we are raised to do. Many of us were raised to think opportunities are available to only a few of us and that only the best of the best will excel, creating a toxic, untrusting environment of hostile competition. It took time for me to realize this didn’t have to be the case, in a special environment where I could be vulnerable enough to see and accept it. The Latina Summer Academy and staff leading the work created a space I didn’t know I needed.
Mrs. Estes, the English teacher, used poetry as a conduit for self-exploration and expression. I discovered a passion for writing in those activities; I even entered and won 75 dollars in a poetry contest! The summer program became a space where each woman, myself included, could thrive alongside one another. This experience taught me the importance of surrounding myself with a sisterhood and mentors, and is something I continue to practice. In fact, some of the girls I met years ago in the Latina Summer Academy continue to be steady presences in my life now.
I chose to give you a glimpse into my experience in an all-female setting because it was one of those circumstances I came to learn that you don’t know what you don’t know. I consider myself extremely lucky for having the opportunity to experience something like that in my youth, and every woman I’ve crossed paths with who had a similar experience says the same thing. There’s just something about it. Without that opportunity, I wonder if I’d still see my female counterparts as competitors, and I can’t help think about the impact that mentality of competition would have on my current life. The women in my life now are part of my safe haven. They are who I rely on when I need support and call when I need a cheer-squad, reality check or shoulder to cry on.
The appreciation for the opportunity of self-development I felt then and keep coming back to is the same appreciation I see in our students participating in the young women cohort of our Social Change Internship. Offered every fall (and paid), we are honored to have the opportunity to hold space for young women in Kansas City and have a similar experience to mine in the Latina Summer Academy all those years ago. Over the course of eight weeks, young women are grouped by a social topic they feel passionately about, and explore pathways to meaningful solutions. My favorite part of this program is seeing how this generation of young women become fearless when they feel activated and encouraged to make change. As an outsider looking into their world, it is nothing short of inspiring.
For too long, the experience of so many professional women was characterized by sentiments like, “The higher you climb, the lonelier the road becomes.” Too often, it takes little to be the ‘only woman in the room’ because we are still vastly underrepresented in many industries. According to McKinsey’s ‘Women in the Workplace 2022’ report, “Women are already significantly underrepresented in leadership. For years, fewer women have risen through the ranks because of the “broken rung” at the first step up to management. Now, companies are struggling to hold onto the relatively few women leaders they have. And all of these dynamics are even more pronounced for women of color.” The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s analysis of 2021 census data states, “Women remain underrepresented in management roles in the U.S. workforce,” finding that 42 percent of managers are women, but women make up 47 percent of the workforce. Women undertaking the responsibility of trailblazing in any sector of industry need (and desire) a sturdy foundation of support to rely on. Unfortunately, it seems this reality will continue to be true for women for some time. Things move slow, and even backwards at times. Even 50+ years after the women’s rights movement, we’re still fighting for equal pay and opportunities, and autonomy in our personal decisions. In the meantime, this is the work - creating and offering spaces where we continue to prepare, encourage, and expose young women to learning experiences that shake the status quo.
See how women-focused opportunities helped Komal Kaur launch Eye of An Immigrant, and Elise Belcher launch GirlsLeadKC.
