Women out-traveling men in study abroad programs

Imagine being the only male student in a study abroad trip.

Sarah Watkins, who returned from a Spanish language and culture program this spring, was one of seven women in a trip with one male student.

The sex disparity experienced in this trip is not unique; the International Programs and Exchanges (IPE) office has noticed the trend for years. And it’s not just at the UW.

Nationwide statistics show that U.S. students studying abroad average about 65 percent female and 35 percent male, according to Open Doors, a group funded by the U.S. State Department to research international studies.

Comprehensive studies at the UW have not been conducted, but the male-female ratio is a curious issue for many.

“There are a lot of hurdles to jump over to study abroad,” said Max Savishinsky, adviser for Exploration Seminars at the IPE. “There’s a lot of investigation, paperwork, and time and energy and money, so sometimes I think there’s a difference between men and women in the willingness to spend time and energy on it.”

Leif Wefferling, who traveled to Gambia and Senegal in 2006, and two others were the only men in the 20-person UW program.

Wefferling, whose trip was a professor-led Exploration Seminar, thought women might be more attracted to the structure of the Exploration Seminar.

“Women would take advantage of that opportunity more than boys would,” he said. “Not that they need it, but they would feel more safe or it would open up the possibility for them to go.”

Watkins’ program, which included students from several state schools, was mainly for Spanish language students.

“For my class, it makes sense, because in my Spanish class it’s mostly girls anyway,” she said.

The statistics for study abroad programs are similar at other state universities.

Staff members at Washington State University are trying to change this trend.

During the 2007-2008 academic year, 62 percent of the 571 WSU students who traveled abroad were female.

WSU senior Colin West directed a survey asking male students why they weren’t studying abroad.

“What his findings seem to indicate are what I believe to be the general perceptions in the field of education, that by and large males aren’t quite as proactive in planning to study abroad,” said Candace Chenoweth, director of International Programs at WSU.

West’s study also examined 425 students who took a survey in the WSU International Programs office. Of these students, 35 percent were liberal arts majors and 20 percent were business majors.

The results of the survey will be used as a starting point for WSU administrators to assess the effectiveness of their upcoming marketing efforts to encourage more men to study abroad.

The UW has no plans to increase the numbers of men studying abroad.

“We don’t discriminate based on gender in the way that we recruit students,” Savishinsky said. “It just happens that the people that opt to study abroad … are women.”

Leif Wefferling, West and Savishinsky all studied abroad in locales as varied as Costa Rica, Italy and Gambia in programs comprising mostly females.

“I honestly don’t know why more guys didn’t sign up,” Wefferling said.

West was also unsure why men weren’t signing up. He jokingly highlighted an incentive for more guys to study abroad in the future.

“From the men’s point of view, it’s kind of nice to have so many girls,” he said.