MIT was like a family when I started my faculty career in engineering here 30+ years ago, as one of a couple of dozen women. Incredibly supportive colleagues who helped me manage many professional and personal crises. I gained a lot of responsibility and felt very respected and valued by all my colleagues, including men. I was sexually…
MIT was like a family when I started my faculty career in engineering here 30+ years ago, as one of a couple of dozen women. Incredibly supportive colleagues who helped me manage many professional and personal crises. I gained a lot of responsibility and felt very respected and valued by all my colleagues, including men. I was sexually harassed around the time of tenure, and the situation was swiftly and justly dealt with, making me feel secure that MIT believed in enforcing rules fairly and protecting the junior members of the community. Starting ~2005, MIT drifted into a universe of being run by lawyers and HR, with passive administration, allowing bullies to gain the upper hand, and I don't recognize it anymore. It is no longer a supportive place for women faculty, as rules are capriciously enforced depending on who is the BFF of the admins, and if you try to keep your head down, teach your classes, follow rules, and stand up for students and colleagues who are bullied by the administration (or other colleagues) - what a sucker you are. If you are a woman, and don't admit to being a victim of every imaginable slight, watch out...you are supposed to follow the narrative for your demographic. Step off the script and WHAM they will whack you back into place, hard.
MIT was like a family when I started my faculty career in engineering here 30+ years ago, as one of a couple of dozen women. Incredibly supportive colleagues who helped me manage many professional and personal crises. I gained a lot of responsibility and felt very respected and valued by all my colleagues, including men. I was sexually harassed around the time of tenure, and the situation was swiftly and justly dealt with, making me feel secure that MIT believed in enforcing rules fairly and protecting the junior members of the community. Starting ~2005, MIT drifted into a universe of being run by lawyers and HR, with passive administration, allowing bullies to gain the upper hand, and I don't recognize it anymore. It is no longer a supportive place for women faculty, as rules are capriciously enforced depending on who is the BFF of the admins, and if you try to keep your head down, teach your classes, follow rules, and stand up for students and colleagues who are bullied by the administration (or other colleagues) - what a sucker you are. If you are a woman, and don't admit to being a victim of every imaginable slight, watch out...you are supposed to follow the narrative for your demographic. Step off the script and WHAM they will whack you back into place, hard.