Are Ivy League sororities feminist?

Sorority enrollment has increased by more than 50 percent over the last decade, according to The New York Times, and some of the growth has come from unexpected places – namely, Ivy League campuses where Greek life was once insignificant on the social scene.

At Brown, 293 women chose to participate in recruitment this year – the highest number in university history – causing sororities to adjust their bid quota to accommodate an unprecedented number of new members (for comparison, only 95 women went through the process in 2013).

The numbers are similar at Harvard, which has seen an increase in the number women going through recruitment over the last three years despite the fact Harvard doesn’t officially recognize Greek life on campus. At Columbia, signups for recruitment have tripled in the past decade, with over 500 women participating this year.

Sororities with increased enrollment are the 26 historically white sororities of the National Panhellenic Conference, which does not include academic or multicultural sororities.

According to The Times’ article, “When a Feminist Pledges a Sorority”, many feel sororities are now empowering women, helping them network and find support rather than focusing on exclusion or superficiality.

Barbara Berg, author of Sexism in America: Alive, Well, and Ruining Our Future, who teaches history at an all-girls private school, said she was surprised many of her star students would go on to pledge sororities.

She told the newspaper: “I was surprised, but over and over again I hear the same thing: It’s not as exclusionary as it used to be, it’s supportive, and it’s going to lead to other possibilities after graduation.

“What I would love to think is that it’s not your mother’s sorority anymore. That it has evolved.”

What do you think? Do sororities empower women or stifle them? Write your response in The Tab – pitch [email protected] to get started.