Are Women Still 2nd Class Citizens at Harvard?

At an Undergraduate Council meeting this spring. Vice Chair David L. Hanselman '94 awarded Marc D. McKay '94 a pair of pantyhose for having a "good time" at an intercollegiate conference, according to a female council member.

"Everyone laughed--at least the men laughed," says Danielle D. Do '94, a council member. "But I didn't really understand. I could guess at what it meant, but I didn't really want to think about it. Is this a forum for that sort of thing?"

Although Hanselman has said the gesture was meant as an innocent joke, Do says the incident illustrates the overtly male-dominated environment in the College's student government. She and other female members say the institutional bias against women obstructs their entry into the leadership of the council.

In the council's 11-year history, no woman has served as chair, and only a few women have served on the council's executive board.

Twenty-two years after Harvard and Radcliffe agreed to merge, the question remains: Are women still second-class citizens on a campus which for almost three centuries was the bastion of a patriarchal society? Or do women now have the same opportunity to succeed and lead their classmates?

Although many organizations seem to have escaped the problems of "gender dynamics" which the council recently discussed, some women in positions of leadership say the cards seem to be stacked against them when they compete against men in undergraduate extracurriculars.

Their problems appear to be twofold: some organizations remain male-dominated and once women join these organizations, deciding to make a bid for leadership can often be laden

Women face bias in some campus groups. with gender-based worries.

The College itself has only slowly been moving towards parity in the ratio of males to females: the class of 1997 will be 44 percent female, the highest percentage of women ever.

But even such numerical equalityis not always found in campus organizations. Twenty-one of the 88 members of the council are female. At The Crimson, roughly half the reporting staff is female, but only 11 of this year's 40 executives are women. In the Unofficial Guide to Life at Harvard, roughly two-thirds of the listed contacts for campus organizations, often the group's presidents or board members, are male.

The example of the council, which conducts most of its business in open, public sessions, may provide an insight into how other campus groups function.

"The way people get elected on the U.C. is first by having a person in a position of authority take you under their wing," Hillary K. Anger '93-94 says. "A lot of the guys in the council are not as likely to take a woman under their wing as a protege. If that's not happening a woman is not going to get elected."

Female council members like Do and Anger say that in addition to being excluded from a network of men that help each other get elected, they are not given as much respect as men when they speak in front of the entire council.

McKay, who says Hanselman's public gift to him "wasn't appropriate," says men on the council may feel more comfortable expressing disagreement with women than with other men.

"Just because a woman is speaking a guy won't necessarily disagree, but [if he does] he may make more a show of it," says McKay, who agrees that the council has a male-dominated atmosphere.

Hanselman, however, says he does not believe women are treated differently in the council because of their gender.

"Insofar as their complaints are that they do not rise to leadership positions specifically because they are women, their complaints are not valid, but I understand their frustration," he says. "To attribute this to an axis of male power is ridiculous."

Not all women leaders say they have faced blatant disrespect. Harvard-Radcliffe Republican Club President Karen E. Boyle '94 says she has never been treated differently by the men who outnumber her in the club.

"I don't think it was an issue in the election," Boyle says of her December campaign for club president. "It wasn't discussed from anything other than my own questions. I got nothing but support."

But Boyle says the question of gender still concerned her. "I guess in my own mind, I wondered would being a woman hurt my chances," she says. "I did campaign extra hard, but I'll never know if I had to do that."

Similar fears that gender will become an issue may discourage some women from joining male-dominated organizations, just as fear of disrespectful treatment in council sessions may discourage women from speaking.

While these factors may not prevent women from seeking leadership positions or from taking an active role in meetings, they may require that women who do seek the spotlight acquire extra determination and confidence.

It is towards this end that the Women's Leadership Project holds a conference each fall sponsored by Harvard, Radcliffe and the Institute of Politics. Approximately 35 undergraduates--including some men--will attend the sixth annual conference in September to discuss the difficulties of being female in a leadership position, both on campus and after graduation.

Last year, WBZ news anchor Liz Walker delivered a keynote address at the conference. The program included panels and workshops on health, public speaking, negotiating and gender and the work force, according to executive director Elizabeth R. Caputo '94.

The conference, Caputo says, leaves its participants feeling empowered. She says the conference helped her gain the confidence she needed to eventually run for chair of the IOP student advisory committee.

"As a first-year student I was active in this political organization that was predominantly a male organization," she says. "The conference really gave me a good perspective to know I was the best person for the position I wanted when I decided to run for chair of the organization."

Caputo says participants find it useful to discuss issues specifically geared towards women leaders. "Men and women face different obstacles when they run for chairs in their campus organizations," she says. "I felt I had to run twice as hard."

Participants in the conference have also discussed which leadership styles work best. Caputo says many conference participants feel "women some-times don't know how to make their pitch."

"They have two approaches they can take, regardless of whether men are in the organization," she says. "One is to be aggressive, to be almost insensitive sometimes. The other option is to be more of a team-builder. That's what works for me the best."

Rachana Choubey '93, a former executive board member for the project, says the conference has helped lead to new projects such as SafetyWalk and Lighthouse magazine, two initiatives begun after their founders attended the conference.

"You create your own opportunities," says Choubey, who is also a former vice president of membership and alumni affairs for the International Relations Council.

In addition to the conference, Radcliffe provides support for some women leaders through its resources, such as spring break externships and mentor programs.

Dean of Radcliffe College Philippa A. Bovet says she thinks Radcliffe's programs externship and mentor programs are particularly useful.

"I...get feedback from students who participate in externships and mentor programs," Bovet says. "I think very explicitly many have discussions with women about effective leadership."

"Unfortunately, I would say [Radcliffe programs] do seem to serve a useful purpose," she says. "We could wish there were not women feeling they have to work twice as hard to rise in their organizations."

Boyle says she has benefited from a Radcliffe Presidential Discretionary Funds grant, which she is using to write a book on how to conduct high school science research that will be distributed to Massachusetts high schools in the fall.

Boyle also says she has particularly appreciated opportunities that Radcliffe has provided for her to meet in small groups with mentors, especially as a physics major who has felt aware that she has been surrounded by men in many of her classes.

A private luncheon she attended in February allowed her and 12 other under-graduate and graduate students to talk with Bovet and June E. Osborn, dean of the University of Michigan School of Public Health before Osborn gave a lecture.

"Things like that come out of Radcliffe--intimate, personal experiences that have sort of kept me going while I've been here," Boyle says. "That type of opportunity to have that type of leader, especially in science, does much."

Several undergraduate organizations deal with helping women succeed in the classroom and become leaders in traditionally male-dominated fields. Women in Science at Harvard-Radcliffe and Women in Government and Economics hold meetings to try to deal with the challenges of being in male-dominated fields.

Boyle has acted as a big sister to younger female science students through the women in science program. "Having mostly male professors--I've had one female science professor--things like that can make an impression on a first-year student," she says.

The Radcliffe Union of Students (RUS), the official student government of Radcliffe, advocates women's rights on campus, but has consistently failed to draw significant participation from the general campus community. Nevertheless, a core group of women have found support in the organization.

"When people come to RUS, they...meet a whole network of women who are involved in other organizations, and realize that there are strong, bright women in these groups," says Deborah J. Wexler '95, an RUS co-chair.

Although many newer organization have cropped up to increase opportunities for women's leadership on campus, some other, long-established organizations seem to have escaped the gender politics that plague the Undergraduate Council and similar institutions.

Jennifer A. Goldberg '94 is president of the Phillips Brooks House Association, which organizes 1500 students working in community service programs. Goldberg says her gender has never been an issue in her organization, which she describes as "very inclusive."

"In PBH I have always had the same experience as everyone else," she says.

In addition, many ethnic organizations have also had women as presidents including Raza, the Black Students Association and the Asian American Association.

Haewon Hwang '95 co-president of AAA, says she does not believe being female has an impact on achieving a position of leadership in any of the Asian campus organizations. "Just by looking around at the sister organizations [of AAA], the majority of executive positions are filled by women," she says.

In athletics, women's lacrosse Captain Elizabeth K. Berkery '93 says she feels that women athletes receive the same amount of respect as male athletes. Nevertheless, an Athletic Department report has revealed this year that women's athletics receive almost half the funding of men's sports.

Berkery also says athletes are probably among the most prominent women on campus.

"Women captains probably are more highly visible as leaders on campus than women leaders of other organizations, only because athletes get more publicity. We're in the newspaper almost every day," she says.

In other organizations, where women are still struggling with the obstacles they face as women in traditionally male-dominated fields, few expect conditions to change instantaneously.

"It's been 20 years. It was a male-dominated university for a long time," Choubey says. "In terms of opportunity [things] are pretty equal. The Lyman Common Room was an important step towards that. Services like a SafetyWalk seems to be something we had a need for. In general it's a pretty open atmosphere. A lot of these things take time."

Bovet says that equality between the sexes may be a bigger issue for students after college.

"A student was saying she felt equality in this community and wondered if she was going to find that when she graduated," Bovet says. "I think that being here, that this campus, while not perfect, is a more equitable environment than may exist when you graduate."

Recent attention on gender stereotypes has focused not only on the struggles of women in the council, but also on recent remarks made by Thomson Professor of Government Harvey C. Mansfield Jr. '53, who said that women won't be as successful as men in occupations that require aggressiveness.

Many women say Mansfield's views reflect the institutional bias that hinders their success in some campus organizations. And while the all-male Harvard of Mansfield's undergraduate days may be gone forever complete gender equality still remains an elusive goal.

Jessica C. Schell and Emily J. Tsai contributed to the reporting of this story.

'I did campaign extra hard, but I'll never know if I had to do that.' KAREN E. BOYLE '94 REPUBLICAN CLUB PRESIDENT.CrimsonEric P. Wilfrid

The College itself has only slowly been moving towards parity in the ratio of males to females: the class of 1997 will be 44 percent female, the highest percentage of women ever.

But even such numerical equalityis not always found in campus organizations. Twenty-one of the 88 members of the council are female. At The Crimson, roughly half the reporting staff is female, but only 11 of this year's 40 executives are women. In the Unofficial Guide to Life at Harvard, roughly two-thirds of the listed contacts for campus organizations, often the group's presidents or board members, are male.

The example of the council, which conducts most of its business in open, public sessions, may provide an insight into how other campus groups function.

"The way people get elected on the U.C. is first by having a person in a position of authority take you under their wing," Hillary K. Anger '93-94 says. "A lot of the guys in the council are not as likely to take a woman under their wing as a protege. If that's not happening a woman is not going to get elected."

Female council members like Do and Anger say that in addition to being excluded from a network of men that help each other get elected, they are not given as much respect as men when they speak in front of the entire council.

McKay, who says Hanselman's public gift to him "wasn't appropriate," says men on the council may feel more comfortable expressing disagreement with women than with other men.

"Just because a woman is speaking a guy won't necessarily disagree, but [if he does] he may make more a show of it," says McKay, who agrees that the council has a male-dominated atmosphere.

Hanselman, however, says he does not believe women are treated differently in the council because of their gender.

"Insofar as their complaints are that they do not rise to leadership positions specifically because they are women, their complaints are not valid, but I understand their frustration," he says. "To attribute this to an axis of male power is ridiculous."

Not all women leaders say they have faced blatant disrespect. Harvard-Radcliffe Republican Club President Karen E. Boyle '94 says she has never been treated differently by the men who outnumber her in the club.

"I don't think it was an issue in the election," Boyle says of her December campaign for club president. "It wasn't discussed from anything other than my own questions. I got nothing but support."

But Boyle says the question of gender still concerned her. "I guess in my own mind, I wondered would being a woman hurt my chances," she says. "I did campaign extra hard, but I'll never know if I had to do that."

Similar fears that gender will become an issue may discourage some women from joining male-dominated organizations, just as fear of disrespectful treatment in council sessions may discourage women from speaking.

While these factors may not prevent women from seeking leadership positions or from taking an active role in meetings, they may require that women who do seek the spotlight acquire extra determination and confidence.

It is towards this end that the Women's Leadership Project holds a conference each fall sponsored by Harvard, Radcliffe and the Institute of Politics. Approximately 35 undergraduates--including some men--will attend the sixth annual conference in September to discuss the difficulties of being female in a leadership position, both on campus and after graduation.

Last year, WBZ news anchor Liz Walker delivered a keynote address at the conference. The program included panels and workshops on health, public speaking, negotiating and gender and the work force, according to executive director Elizabeth R. Caputo '94.

The conference, Caputo says, leaves its participants feeling empowered. She says the conference helped her gain the confidence she needed to eventually run for chair of the IOP student advisory committee.

"As a first-year student I was active in this political organization that was predominantly a male organization," she says. "The conference really gave me a good perspective to know I was the best person for the position I wanted when I decided to run for chair of the organization."

Caputo says participants find it useful to discuss issues specifically geared towards women leaders. "Men and women face different obstacles when they run for chairs in their campus organizations," she says. "I felt I had to run twice as hard."

Participants in the conference have also discussed which leadership styles work best. Caputo says many conference participants feel "women some-times don't know how to make their pitch."

"They have two approaches they can take, regardless of whether men are in the organization," she says. "One is to be aggressive, to be almost insensitive sometimes. The other option is to be more of a team-builder. That's what works for me the best."

Rachana Choubey '93, a former executive board member for the project, says the conference has helped lead to new projects such as SafetyWalk and Lighthouse magazine, two initiatives begun after their founders attended the conference.

"You create your own opportunities," says Choubey, who is also a former vice president of membership and alumni affairs for the International Relations Council.

In addition to the conference, Radcliffe provides support for some women leaders through its resources, such as spring break externships and mentor programs.

Dean of Radcliffe College Philippa A. Bovet says she thinks Radcliffe's programs externship and mentor programs are particularly useful.

"I...get feedback from students who participate in externships and mentor programs," Bovet says. "I think very explicitly many have discussions with women about effective leadership."

"Unfortunately, I would say [Radcliffe programs] do seem to serve a useful purpose," she says. "We could wish there were not women feeling they have to work twice as hard to rise in their organizations."

Boyle says she has benefited from a Radcliffe Presidential Discretionary Funds grant, which she is using to write a book on how to conduct high school science research that will be distributed to Massachusetts high schools in the fall.

Boyle also says she has particularly appreciated opportunities that Radcliffe has provided for her to meet in small groups with mentors, especially as a physics major who has felt aware that she has been surrounded by men in many of her classes.

A private luncheon she attended in February allowed her and 12 other under-graduate and graduate students to talk with Bovet and June E. Osborn, dean of the University of Michigan School of Public Health before Osborn gave a lecture.

"Things like that come out of Radcliffe--intimate, personal experiences that have sort of kept me going while I've been here," Boyle says. "That type of opportunity to have that type of leader, especially in science, does much."

Several undergraduate organizations deal with helping women succeed in the classroom and become leaders in traditionally male-dominated fields. Women in Science at Harvard-Radcliffe and Women in Government and Economics hold meetings to try to deal with the challenges of being in male-dominated fields.

Boyle has acted as a big sister to younger female science students through the women in science program. "Having mostly male professors--I've had one female science professor--things like that can make an impression on a first-year student," she says.

The Radcliffe Union of Students (RUS), the official student government of Radcliffe, advocates women's rights on campus, but has consistently failed to draw significant participation from the general campus community. Nevertheless, a core group of women have found support in the organization.

"When people come to RUS, they...meet a whole network of women who are involved in other organizations, and realize that there are strong, bright women in these groups," says Deborah J. Wexler '95, an RUS co-chair.

Although many newer organization have cropped up to increase opportunities for women's leadership on campus, some other, long-established organizations seem to have escaped the gender politics that plague the Undergraduate Council and similar institutions.

Jennifer A. Goldberg '94 is president of the Phillips Brooks House Association, which organizes 1500 students working in community service programs. Goldberg says her gender has never been an issue in her organization, which she describes as "very inclusive."

"In PBH I have always had the same experience as everyone else," she says.

In addition, many ethnic organizations have also had women as presidents including Raza, the Black Students Association and the Asian American Association.

Haewon Hwang '95 co-president of AAA, says she does not believe being female has an impact on achieving a position of leadership in any of the Asian campus organizations. "Just by looking around at the sister organizations [of AAA], the majority of executive positions are filled by women," she says.

In athletics, women's lacrosse Captain Elizabeth K. Berkery '93 says she feels that women athletes receive the same amount of respect as male athletes. Nevertheless, an Athletic Department report has revealed this year that women's athletics receive almost half the funding of men's sports.

Berkery also says athletes are probably among the most prominent women on campus.

"Women captains probably are more highly visible as leaders on campus than women leaders of other organizations, only because athletes get more publicity. We're in the newspaper almost every day," she says.

In other organizations, where women are still struggling with the obstacles they face as women in traditionally male-dominated fields, few expect conditions to change instantaneously.

"It's been 20 years. It was a male-dominated university for a long time," Choubey says. "In terms of opportunity [things] are pretty equal. The Lyman Common Room was an important step towards that. Services like a SafetyWalk seems to be something we had a need for. In general it's a pretty open atmosphere. A lot of these things take time."

Bovet says that equality between the sexes may be a bigger issue for students after college.

"A student was saying she felt equality in this community and wondered if she was going to find that when she graduated," Bovet says. "I think that being here, that this campus, while not perfect, is a more equitable environment than may exist when you graduate."

Recent attention on gender stereotypes has focused not only on the struggles of women in the council, but also on recent remarks made by Thomson Professor of Government Harvey C. Mansfield Jr. '53, who said that women won't be as successful as men in occupations that require aggressiveness.

Many women say Mansfield's views reflect the institutional bias that hinders their success in some campus organizations. And while the all-male Harvard of Mansfield's undergraduate days may be gone forever complete gender equality still remains an elusive goal.

Jessica C. Schell and Emily J. Tsai contributed to the reporting of this story.

'I did campaign extra hard, but I'll never know if I had to do that.' KAREN E. BOYLE '94 REPUBLICAN CLUB PRESIDENT.CrimsonEric P. Wilfrid