Women in Sororities:
Characteristics and
Challenges
Sarah Schanck
Lisa Shepard
Kaitlin Stannard
Overview
• Positive associations of sorority affiliation
• Negative associations of sorority affiliation
• Trends affecting the subpopulation
• Leadership development
• Service and scholarship
• National organizations: National Panhellenic
Conference (NPC), National Pan-Hellenic
Council (NPHC), and Multicultural
Positive Associations of Sorority
Affiliation
• 9 million college students are members of
a Greek organization
• Can help improve interpersonal skills and
leadership capabilities
• Learn to respect diverse perspectives
• Common rituals and alumni network
• Positive community interaction and
philanthropy
Negative Associations of Sorority
Affiliation
• Hazing
• Binge drinking and alcohol abuse
• Body image and eating disorders
• Sexual abuse
• Perceived lack of diversity
“Unfortunately we all know people that wear
letters and aren’t interested in the right kind of
membership”
Trends Affecting Subpopulation
• Research tends to focus on negative issues
instead of positive influences of affiliation
• Values based marketing needs to be
incorporated
• Increased media pressure over hazing and
diversity issues
“There is an ever-increasing gap between the
founding principles of fraternities and sororities
and the reality of their current state.”
Leadership Development
• Values based skill building
• Citizenship through community
engagement
• Opportunities to lead peers and fail in a
nurturing environment
• Gains in social development
• Indirect impact on cognitive ability
• Increased engagement with university
Service and Scholarship
• Higher retention rates for sorority women vs.
non-sorority women
• Increased exposure to diverse perspectives
• More likely to donate time or money to civic or
religious organizations
• Positive correlation between this type of
engagement and lifelong learning
• All organizations have a service connection and
a scholarship requirement
National Panhellenic
Conference
• 26 member
organizations
• Vision Statement:
Advancing the Sorority
Experience Together
Click to edit the
Kappa Alpha Theta
outline text format
Pi Beta Phi

Kappa Kappa Gamma
Second Outline
Alpha Gamma Delta
Level

Delta Gamma

Gamma Phi Beta
• Mission Statement: The
National Panhellenic
Conference is the
premier advocacy and
support organization for
the advancement of the
sorority experience.
Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Xi Delta
Delta Delta Delta
Chi Omega
Sigma Kappa
Alpha Omicron Pi
Zeta Tau Alpha
Third Outline
Level

Fourth
Outline
Level
 Fifth
Outline
Level
Values of the NPC
THE PANHELLENIC CREED
We, as Undergraduate members of women’s fraternities,
stand for good scholarship, for guarding of good health, for
maintenance of fine standards, and for serving, to the best of
our ability, our college community.
Cooperation for furthering fraternity life, in harmony with its
best possibilities, is the ideal that shall guide our fraternity
activities.
We, as Fraternity Women, stand for service through the
development of character inspired by the close contact and
deep friendship of individual fraternity and Panhellenic life.
The opportunity for wide and wise human service, through
NPC Student Perspective
Sydney Jessup- ADPi at Georgia College

“Alphato
Delta
Pi has
greatly improved
Click
edit
the
my college experience as well as my
outline
text
format
life! I have
gained
so much from this
organization from the friendships to
 experiences.
Second Outline
It has opened my eyes
toLevel
the meaning of being a part of
something more. This organization
Third
hasallowed
meOutline
to volunteer from
servingLevel
others to fundraising. It has
also allowed for many networking
 Fourth
opportunities
with alumni and those
attending our
events. Although it is
Outline
time consuming, the experience of
Level
being part of this sisterhood has truly
enhanced mylife.
I would not trade
Fifth
this experience for the world. “
Outline
Level
National Pan-Hellenic Council
(NPHC)
On May 10, 1930, on the campus of Howard University, the National Pan-Hellenic Council
was formed. It is composed of 9 Greek letter organizations known collectively as the "Divine
Nine." Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity,
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Zeta Phi Beta
Sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity make up what is known as
the National Pan-Hellenic Council.
Alpha Kappa Alpha was the nation’s first African-American sorority. It was founded at
Howard University in 1908. National membership is estimated at 260,000.
The nation's second-oldest African-American sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, was also founded
on the campus of Howard University in 1913. It has a national membership of over 250,000.
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority was founded in 1920 at Howard University, as well. It’s membership is
estimated at 125,000.
NPHC Purpose and Mission
The stated purpose and mission of the

Politics:
Day at
the
Click AKA
to edit
the
outline text format
NPHC in 1930 was, “Unanimity of thought
Capitol
and action as far as possible in the conduct
Education: Delta GEMS
of Greek letter collegiate fraternities and
(Growing and Empowering Myself
 Third Outline
Successfully)
sororities, and to consider problems of
mutual interest to its member organizations.
Today, the NPHC National Initiatives Program details the service projects of the
NPHC nine member organizations in the

Second Outline
Level
Level
Economics: Sigma Gamma
Fourth
Rho and Re/Max
Home
Outline
Level
Ownership Partnership
 Fifth
Environment: Project
ZETA Outline
Level
(Zeta Environmentalist
Teaching

Activism)
As evidenced by the universities on which the four African-American sororities in the
NPHC were
founded, college women can experience Greek life on the campuses of either
historically Black college
and universities (HBCUs) or predominantly White institutions (PWIs).
TABLE 2
Regression Summaries for the Effects of Greek Affiliation on Student Engagement
Student Engagement Metric
Regression Coefficient
Effect Size
R2
Part A: All African American Students
Academic challenge
.309
.055
.062
Active and collaborative learning .
.586*
.163
.122
Student-faculty interaction
.711*
.205
.085
Supportive campus climate
.437
.089
.041
Part B: HBCU Students
Academic challenge
.759
.134
.073
Active and collaborative learning
.693*
.189
.121
Student-faculty interaction
.834*
.230
.104
Supportive campus climate
.411
.082
.037
NPHC Challenges… continued
Research on student engagement is abundant. However, student engagement
research that focuses on Black student Greek affiliation is limited. The
information that is available shows that HBCU attendance results in positive
effects on many educational outcomes for students.
The results of the research by Patton, Bridges, and Flowers reflected in the
regression summaries shown in Table 2 reflect that African-American students
in fraternities and sororities at HBCUs are more engaged in effective
educational practices than African-American students in sororities and
fraternities at PWIs.
Therefore, the NPHC will continue to be challenged with increasing the
engagement of African- American women in sororities at PWIs and
maintaining the viability of those sorority chapters.
National Multicultural Greek Council
•
Member Sororities
12 member organization

•
–
9 Sororities
–
3 Fraternities
Click to edit the
Delta Xi Phi
outline text format

Delta Sigma Chi
Second Outline
Level
Gamma Eta
Formed in 1998 to unite Greek-letter Fraternities and
 Third
Sororities under one national entity, the NMGC provides
in
an advisory capacity to its autonomous Greek-letter
Level
organizations.

•
Mission and Purpose
–
Provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas,
programs, and services between multicultural Greek
societies.
–
Promote the awareness of multicultural diversity
within collegiate institutions, local community, and
Outline
Theta Nu Xi
Lambda Psi Delta
Fourth
Outline
Lambda Tau Omega
Level
Mu Sigma Upsilon
 Fifth
Omega Phi Chi
Outline
Level
Lambda Sigma
references
Alpha Delta Pi. (2008). Retrieved from:
ttp://www.alphadeltapi.org/contentmanager/page.asp?webpageid=1
Barker, C. (2010, February 18). Who are the Black Greeks and why?. New York Amsterdam News. p. 17.
Delta Xi Phi National Sorority. (2013). About. Retrieved from http://deltaxiphi.com/about/.
Glass, N. (2012). Examining the benefits of greek life. USA Today College. Retrieved from:
http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/campuslife/examining-the-benefits-of-greek-life
National Multicultural Greek Council. (2013). The constitution of the national multicultural greek council.
Retrieved from http://nationalmgc.org/about/constitution/.
National Panhellenic Conference. (2012). 2011-2012 Annual report. Retrieved from:
https://www.npcwomen.org/resources/pdf/2012%20Annual%20Report.pdf
National Panhellenic Conference. (2013). Unanimous Agreements. Retrieved from:
https://www.npcwomen.org/resources/pdf/Unanimous%20Agreements.pdf
National Pan-hellenic Council, Incorporated. (2010). Mission. Retrieved from:
http://www.nphchq.org/mission.htm
National Pan-hellenic Council, Incorporated. (2010). National program initiatives. Retrieved from:
http://www.nphchq.org/docs/NPHC_Program_Initiatives_2010.pdf
National Pan-hellenic Council, Incorporated. (2010). Leadership. Retrieved from:
http://www.nphchq.org/leadership.htm