OP-ED: Gender Studies Should Be a Wharton Major

Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, perhaps the most highly competitive and coveted major in the College of Arts and Sciences, has become infamous for its rigor, mathematical difficulty, and heavy time-commitment. On average, only about 20 students in each grade can handle the academic rigor and long hours of studying to successfully graduate with this major. The small percentage of the student body graduating with a Gender Studies major is no doubt due to it’s difficulty and not for any other reason at all...yeah...definitely not for any other reason...

The rigor of gender studies courses are often overlooked, with class ratings on Penn course review as high as *gasp* a 1.8 difficulty! The only classes with similar rankings of difficulty are in Wharton! Thus, it comes to no surprise that many students are pushing for an integration of gender, sexuality, and women’s studies majors to be included in the Wharton school of business. I concur with these students, and agree that such studies are vital to the business industry and education of students in Wharton. How can Wharton students go into the business world successfully without reciting Barbara Frischmuth's feminist theory auto-biography Die Klostureschule (in original German) by memory?

Due to these protests, Wharton is also considering creating a duel-major program between business degrees and gender studies. These majors would include concentrations such as “queer German cinema and its impact on international trade” and “business analytics and the female reproductive system”.  These majors, which focus on the relationship between the business world and gender identity, are essential for the modern Wharton student to explore.

Consequently, I urge Wharton to consider adding gender, sexuality, and women’s studies to their extensive curriculum in order to more adequately prepare their students for the business world. It only makes sense.