Converse College

"On average women in America make seventy-eight cents for every dollar that a man makes. But did you know that in a lifetime of work, a woman with a bachelor's degree earns the same as a man with a high school diploma and that a woman with a master's degree earns the same as a man with a bachelor's? This is you we are talking about and it is your generation that needs to figure out how to fix it. So as you begin your next phase of life, be on guard against this most insidious form of discrimination: self-discrimination. As women, many of us step back from recognition and from power. We step up to responsibility but we step away from acknowledging and using the power that should come with it. Meaningful and long-lasting satisfaction in life comes from being engaged and invested in work, in relationships and in communities. It comes from accepting the responsibility to shape the environment in which you find yourself instead of letting it happen around you."