In the world today, a young lady who does not have a college

The words of Walter Annenberg strike with both urgency and lament: “In the world today, a young lady who does not have a college education just is not educated.” In this sentence he points to the transformation of society, where the old measure of knowledge—basic schooling or mere literacy—is no longer sufficient. In an age when opportunities and challenges grow more complex, he declares that true education demands higher learning. Especially for women, long denied equal access to the halls of knowledge, the absence of such education risks leaving them voiceless in a world that demands skill, confidence, and intellect.

The deeper meaning of Annenberg’s words lies in the recognition that the modern world is unforgiving to the unprepared. Once, in generations past, a woman might be deemed “educated” if she could read, write, and manage a household. But the rise of industry, technology, and the professions has rewritten the script. Now, without college, doors close, and without credentials, the voice of the young lady is too easily dismissed. Annenberg insists that true equality cannot exist unless women are given the same access to advanced knowledge as men, for knowledge is the key that unlocks independence.

History testifies to this truth. Think of Marie Curie, who defied the barriers of her time to study science in Paris, a privilege denied to her in her native Poland because she was a woman. Through higher education, she became the first person to win two Nobel Prizes, changing not only her own destiny but the destiny of science itself. Had she been denied that education, the treasures of radioactivity and its applications would have remained buried. Her life is proof that college education is not an ornament, but a foundation upon which women may stand to change the world.

Annenberg’s warning also reflects the long struggle for women’s rights. In the nineteenth century, Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States, was told repeatedly that women were unfit for such study. Yet she persevered, not for herself alone but for generations of women after her. Today, her example reminds us that when women are educated, they rise not only for their own sake but for the sake of society as a whole. To deny them this is to impoverish the world of their talent.

The words carry a tone of urgency: “In the world today…” He does not speak of a distant future, but of a present reality. The pace of change has quickened, and what was once optional is now essential. In a global economy where competition spans continents, where professions demand specialization, and where voices clamor for authority, the absence of education leaves one behind, unheard and unseen. Thus, for a young lady to thrive, to be taken seriously, and to claim her rightful place in leadership, she must be armed with the power of higher learning.

Yet his quote also carries a challenge. It is not enough for institutions to open their doors; society must encourage women to walk through them, free of fear or discouragement. Families must value the education of daughters as highly as that of sons. Communities must provide the means for women to access and complete their studies. For the struggle is not only personal but collective: every woman who rises through education lifts her family, her community, and her nation with her.

Therefore, O listener, take Annenberg’s words as a call to action. If you are young, pursue education with diligence, knowing it is the shield and sword with which you will face the world. If you are a parent, ensure your daughters are given the same opportunities as your sons. If you are a leader, create pathways for women to learn, to rise, and to shine. For the measure of a just society is not in how many men are educated, but in how fully women share in the same light. For when women are educated, all humanity is enriched, and the world itself is lifted closer to wisdom.