Male aversion to studying abroad not just a Guelph phenomenon
Most students at the University of Guelph are fully aware that the ratio of male to female students is skewed heavily toward the latter. In 2011, the full-time undergraduate student population was 61 per cent female.
Yet when it comes to studying abroad, the disparity between the genders is even more acute. That ratio usually hovers around four to one. But in the case of the forthcoming India Semester Abroad, the ratio has reached almost improbable levels: now, only two male students will be travelling to India in the winter. The semester will be 92 per cent female.
Semesters abroad vary in nature depending on the destination, but all involve groups of students, numbering not more than 25, travelling as a group to a foreign country. The India Semester Abroad is unusual in that it involves extensive travel throughout the entire country.
Aside from questions about why male students are forgoing these international opportunities – questions that are, not incidentally, attracting the attention of administrators and academics alike – in the case of the India Semester, it is worth considering what a lack of male students means for the functioning of the semester. Given that Indian customs tend to privilege the rights of males, will a group with so few male students abroad need to take extra precautions or avoid certain activities that were possible in years past when the ratio was less skewed?
The Centre for International Programs (CIP) insists that female students are not at higher risk because of the drop in male students. The India semester has traditionally drawn more male students than this, but the CIP is confident in the safety of its programs and the ability of its coordinators (students in semesters abroad travel with a faculty member who facilitates the program) to maintain the security of students.
When the India Semester was run in the winter of 2012, six male students participated. Lauren Stelck, a fifth-year female student who participated in that semester wonders if the next group of female students might feel “uncomfortable” not having male students around in potentially dangerous situations.
“It’s not that you rely on [the male students], it just gives you peace of mind. It’s just that, if something were to happen, you’re going to be taken more seriously with a guy standing next to you. Or if someone is harassing you, if a guy comes over they’re less likely to harass you,” said Stelck.
While this dynamic could potentially hold true for anywhere in the world, it is believed that a male’s persuasive capacity is generally better understood, or at least more quickly appreciated, in less developed countries.
Besides upgrading the group from third-class compartments to second-class compartments when travelling by train, no major changes to the program are anticipated in light of this demographic shift. Still, it is possible that female students may find themselves in more situations where they experience difficulty warding off unwanted attention.
But, says Stelck, “What are you going to do? Just never go out past dark? That’s kind of silly.”
In the end, everyone would like to see more male students participating in study abroad programs; though, understandably, the CIP has no affirmative action policy for recruiting male students. They are simply concerned with attracting as many students as possible, no matter the gender.
“It’s not easier for male students to get into these programs, but we’re always really happy to see male students applying,” said Lisa Blenkinsop, the Study Abroad Manager at the CIP, who adds that part of the reason why the India Semester Abroad attracts more females is that the semester is highly tailored toward International Development students, a program that itself attracts more females than males.
Poor turnout by males in study abroad programs is not just restricted to the U of G, it is an international phenomenon that is perplexing academics and administrators.
“It’s not just Guelph, it’s not just Canada, it’s not just the U.S., they see the same trend in U.K.: guys just don’t go on these things,” said Lynne A. Mitchell, Director and International Liaison Officer for the CIP. “I think a lot of what those studies say are – and whether this is true for Guelph or not I’m not completely sure – that the people with the most flexibility in their programs to go on these types of overseas programs often are in Bachelor of Arts.”
Indeed, there are about twice as many females as males in the social sciences and humanities at the U of G; but this trend should not account for such a dramatic upstaging by the female population.
Other researchers have hypothesized that males are generally slower to jump on opportunities in general; are more focused on obtaining a career at university, to the exclusion of other activities; are more concerned with maintaining their domestic circle of friends; are more reluctant to pursue what they see as “frivolous travel;” and do not value as highly the social connections up for grabs in international travel.
As far as the forthcoming India Semester is concerned, it is likely that the next group will experience the country differently as a result of its lop-sided constituency. And while women are duly celebrated for pursuing international programs with such intensity, it is perhaps ironic that men can influence that experience (however slightly) precisely because they are choosing not to follow in their footsteps.