It is true that women have made enormous strides over the past 100 years, both socially and professionally. From emancipation to suffrage, and sexual freedom and economic opportunity, the women of today live far freer and with a much greater chance at personal fulfillment than a century ago.

But the “glass ceiling” remains – and not only at the upper echelons of large companies. It is often thought that women encounter their inequality in their paycheck as a result of lower income, or when trying to move from middle to upper management, or even to boards of directors or other top-level positions. But women continue to be denied equal access from a much earlier stage – education.

While it is a fact that more women than men finish an undergraduate degree, it is also a fact that women are not fully engaged by institutions of higher education. Due to the conflicting and often-complex role that women often play in today’s society, as parent-employee-student (at the same time!), it is extremely important that schools provide appropriate structures and support to ensure not only academic completion, but access to training and employment opportunities and continuing education.

In addition, while women may outnumber men in total number of graduates, they are continually and historically underrepresented in many industry-specific majors and careers such as architecture, math, science, technology, and engineering. Finally, women who belong to a minority ethnic group encounter even more obstacles to preparing for and establishing a successful career.

For all these reasons, many institutions and organizations offer grants for women which are designed to help offset some of these disadvantages and practices. One of the most useful types of grants are those for women who are studying those fields where they have been traditionally under-represented. These grants may be issued by the school, or by a public or private organization. Some of them also combine a requirement that the woman belong to a minority group, furthering their impact.

One of these is the grant offered by the National Black Nurses Association to working and studying nurses. Awards between $500 and $2000 a year are awarded to nearly a dozen recipients.

As stated before, women beat out men at the undergraduate level – but the disparity between men and women in advanced degree programs overall, and especially in these underrepresented fields, is even greater. For this reason, many scholarships or grants for women are directed to the post-graduate level.

One of these is the Ford Foundation’s Pre-Doctoral Fellowship for Minorities. This scholarship is available to both women and minorities studying math, science, or engineering-related degrees. The National Physical Science Consortium also offers fellowships to women and minorities studying degrees related to computer science, math, chemistry, geology, or astronomy. In addition, women enrolled in a graduate degree program in computer science, math, engineering, or science can be eligible for a Women in Engineering and Computer and Information Science Award, administered through the National Science Foundation.

There are many grants available for women, of which these are only a few. Browse through the site and find more information on low income grants for housing, college, families or women.