Education is the key to success and paves the way to success. In the "Author's Introduction" to her 1792 treatise, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft states that the education of women has been "neglected" and that the education they receive is "a false education system” focused on trivial issues. Because women have not been afforded educational opportunities comparable to those of men, she laments that women are considered inferior and "a frivolous sex" who can only rise in the world through marriage (Wollstonecraft ). Women and men must be treated equally and given equal opportunities: each person's ability, not their gender, must be the decisive force in all aspects of life. Wollstonecraft lived during the Age of Enlightenment (c. 1650 – 1800), when there was a call for greater social welfare. and political equality (Fiero 293). In 1789, French citizens of the lower and middle classes revolted because of the disorder and inequality of their system. After the Revolution, the new Governmental Assembly established a constitution preceded by a Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (303). In response, Olympe de Gourges wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Women and of the Citizen, demanding that women benefit from the same rights as men. It was the first time in history that women demanded equal property rights, government employment, and equal educational opportunities (303). Wollstonecraft's treatise was a response to the new French Constitution, which excluded women from all areas of public life; the report on education given by Mr Talleyrand-Périgord to the French National Assembly, recommending that the education of girls be oriented towards more servile activities (Wollstonecraft); and a condemnation of the philosopher, J...... middle of paper ......ersity Libraries. Duke University Libraries. November 10, 2011. .Kingsbury, Alex. “Many colleges reject women at higher rates than men.” US News & World Report. US News & World Report, June 17, 2007. November 10, 2011. .United States of America. US Department of Commerce. United States Census Bureau. The big win: educational attainment and summary estimates of work-life income. US Department of Commerce. November 11, 2011. Wollstonecraft, Mary. “Introduction of the author.” Introduction. A demand for women's rights. Feminism and women's studies. Server. October 19, 2011. .