Getting a man or getting ahead - A comparison of white and black sororities

In-depth interviews with thirteen white and thirteen black sorority members at two college campuses show that white sororities encourage romantic pair ings ("getting a man") evidenced by their extensive social affairs and form al recognitions for women who achieve relationship milestones, while black sororities focus on careers and community service ("getting ahead") evidenc ed by their reliance on sorority alumnae for career networking and by their extensive involvement in community service. The authors argue that the key to understanding the variation lies in the different histories and current structural positions of the groups. For black sororities, historic images of strong, independent black women and the modern reality of black female m arriage and poverty rates have shaped the sorority structure. White sororit ies have emphasized finding a man as a source of support, an orientation at odds both with a modern reality that dictates labor force participation fo r all women and with members' career aspirations.