Regarding the question about gender differences and service:
I think it's important to take a historical perspective on this question.
Service has been identified by a number fo historians as the vehicle for
entry of women into the "public sphere" early on in U.S. history. Although
prohibited from voting, women were not silenced from public life.
We should also recognize that much of the "volunteer" work that sustained
some of our institutions (e.g., mothers' associations that evolved into
PTA's) was conducted by women for no pay. Now that "two-income families"
are becoming the norm, more women work outside the home and hence
institutions and agencies find it harder to recruit unpaid labor.
In addition to speculations about differences in the psychology of males
and females that may affect percentages of participation, it might be
useful to ask about the differing traditions of community involvement in
the life and family experiences of students and how those traditions
interact with their commitments to service. If the women in your family
were the volunteers, what does that mean for your commitments to service
and community?--DD
David Droge "Disciplinary Pathways to Service-
Communication and Theatre Arts Learning," edited by me, is now
University of Puget Sound available on-line at
1500 N Warner St. http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/academic/compact
Tacoma, WA 98416 Click on "Publications."
(206)756-3333 (office)
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