#TestimonialTuesday Week 34: “A postdoc was told by our PI (in front of the entire lab) that the reason why she was able to get faculty job offers with her paper still under review was because she was a woman."

Contrary to this PI’s sexist claims, women in academia are not granted special or preferential treatment. In fact, the opposite has been empirically proven on many occasions: women are underrepresented as full-time faculty and are tenured at much lower rates than are men...

...women are cited less often than men and are underrepresented in syllabi, women faculty average lower salaries than men, and women are systematically overlooked for prestigious positions and leadership roles.

Women also take on a disproportionate share of care work, from writing more letters of recommendation to serving on committees at higher rates. These disparities reflect how deeply embedded gender inequalities and sexism are in the structure of academia.

To create a more equitable and inclusive MIT community that benefits everyone, we must dismantle the academic patriarchy in its many forms. This is why RISE advocates for promoting diversity in faculty hiring and tenure, expanding implicit bias and harassment training...

...hiring DEI officers for departmental accountability, and reforming policies for addressing allegations of faculty misconduct. Now, more than ever, it is essential that we push for real and meaningful change. Check out our full list of demands at http://rise4mit.com/demands .

If you would like to share your experiences of racism, harassment, or discrimination within academia, you can submit at http://rise4mit.com/testimonials  or email us directly at [email protected].