Report Released To Examine Women's Issues

In the wake of protests over the lack of women faculty at Harvard and the creation of a fund to increase mentoring for women, the University recently released a report on the status of women at Harvard.

The report, entitled "Harvard Women in the University Campaign," represents Harvard's beginning efforts to address the concerns of alumnae and to encourage their involvement in the capital campaign, according to Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles, whose office issued the report.

"Why aren't women more active at Harvard? Why do our alumnae feel less connected? Why have we not engaged as many women as leaders and donors in our fundraising?" Knowles questions in a letter introducing the report to alumnae and alumni.

Lyn Chamberlin, spokesperson for the Radcliffe Alumnae Association, applauded the questions asked by Knowles in the report. Linda S. Wilson, president of Radcliffe, was in Texas yesterday and could not be reached for comment.

"We are laudatory and supportive of anything Harvard wants to do in this area," Chamberlin said.

According to the report, President Neil L. Rudenstine and Knowles became increasingly concerned about the alumnae's involvement with Harvard during the planning of the capital campaign.

The report also aims to find ways to improve services for current undergraduate women at Harvard.

The report contains the responses of seven alumnae discussion groups held during 1995 and 1996 in five cities: Boston, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Fundraising

Alumnae attending the discussion groups commonly agreed on the high quality of their education and their commitment to staying involved with the University while pursuing careers and families. However, many of the women said they needed different structures in order to participate more actively in Harvard's campaign.

At the meetings, alumnae also expressed their concerns about the number of tenured women in the Faculty.

In addition, they said the competitive fundraising among alumni classes at Harvard was not a "powerful motivator" for getting women to contribute.

In particular, many alumnae said that Harvard's agreement with Radcliffe not to ask pre-1976 alumnae for gifts gives the impression that Harvard "neither cares about nor needs the participation of its women graduates."

Women attending the meetings also expressed their desire to have more facts about how women students are faring at Harvard and what Harvard is doing for them.

"We will be content with nothing less than a Harvard environment that encourages both women and men to achieve and excel within the College community and beyond," Knowles said in the report.

In June 1996, Harvard also mailed a survey to a sample of alumnae, the results of which are contained in the report.

Harvard or Radcliffe?

Many of the survey respondents, according to the report, said they were unclear about the separate priorities and activities of Harvard and Radcliffe colleges. Women graduates who participated in the discussion groups also noted "significant confusion" in the roles of Harvard and Radcliffe in undergraduate education, extracurricular life and fundraising.

"[Radcliffe alumnae] are mostly concerned about the fact that Radcliffe is left out of the programs," Chamberlin said.

According to the report, surveyed alumnae also complained of "frustration and confusion" created by the two institutions' simultaneous fundraising efforts, although they reported that they often contribute to both Harvard and Radcliffe regardless.

"We're happy to have alumnae support both institutions. We've never looked at it as a competition. The goals of the Radcliffe campaign are very distinct, and it doesn't overlap with what Harvard [requests]," Chamberlin said.

"We see them as being highly complementary," she added.

Surveyed alumnae ranked financial aid first and the recruitment of women and minority faculty second as their highest giving priories.

Gender Gap at OCS

The report says that last summer, surveys and student focus groups at the Office of Career Services (OCS) revealed that disproportionately more men than women take advantage of its resources.

In an e-mail yesterday, William Wright-Swadel, director of OCS, said that there was actually not an overall gender disparity in OCS use.

"More women use the office for career counseling/advising in each of the first three years; slightly more men use the office for the same service in the senior year," he wrote.

However, Wright-Swadel said that in the areas of fellowships and recruiting, men often outnumber women.

For instance, he said that although slightly more women than men apply for fellowships in general, more men apply for the prestigious Rhodes and Marshall scholarships.

In the recruiting program, men clearly outnumber women, according to Wright-Swadel. For example, he said in the '95-'96 recruiting program, 426 men and 277 women participated.

Wright-Swadel said that OCS is taking several steps to eliminate this gender disparity and has cooperated with Knowles' staff concerning this issue.

"We are working hard to talk about usage/attendance of OCS programs with students (and often with parents as well) in the large group presentations that we deliver," Wright-Swadel wrote.

Among other measures, OCS has also placed additional emphasis on ensuring that its career panels and presentations include women.

"OCS will continue to monitor the data to evaluate our progress on this issue; we will continue to speak with students to learn more of the 'reasons why' the disparity exists in certain programs..." Wright-Swadel wrote.

Plans of Action

The FAS report on the status of women confirms that Knowles has also asked a small group of alumnae to work with him to create a plan that will address the issues raised in the seven focus groups.

This 41-member Task Force on Women and Leadership held its first meeting in November and agreed that two areas require concentrated attention--fundraising and alumnae relations.

The Harvard College Fund, which handles annual fundraising for the College, has also initiated a reassessment and planning process this year, according to the report.

Diana L. Nelson '84 was recently named chair of the Harvard College Fund Women's Task Force, a committee looking into ways to increase women's involvement in the Fund

"[Radcliffe alumnae] are mostly concerned about the fact that Radcliffe is left out of the programs," Chamberlin said.

According to the report, surveyed alumnae also complained of "frustration and confusion" created by the two institutions' simultaneous fundraising efforts, although they reported that they often contribute to both Harvard and Radcliffe regardless.

"We're happy to have alumnae support both institutions. We've never looked at it as a competition. The goals of the Radcliffe campaign are very distinct, and it doesn't overlap with what Harvard [requests]," Chamberlin said.

"We see them as being highly complementary," she added.

Surveyed alumnae ranked financial aid first and the recruitment of women and minority faculty second as their highest giving priories.

Gender Gap at OCS

The report says that last summer, surveys and student focus groups at the Office of Career Services (OCS) revealed that disproportionately more men than women take advantage of its resources.

In an e-mail yesterday, William Wright-Swadel, director of OCS, said that there was actually not an overall gender disparity in OCS use.

"More women use the office for career counseling/advising in each of the first three years; slightly more men use the office for the same service in the senior year," he wrote.

However, Wright-Swadel said that in the areas of fellowships and recruiting, men often outnumber women.

For instance, he said that although slightly more women than men apply for fellowships in general, more men apply for the prestigious Rhodes and Marshall scholarships.

In the recruiting program, men clearly outnumber women, according to Wright-Swadel. For example, he said in the '95-'96 recruiting program, 426 men and 277 women participated.

Wright-Swadel said that OCS is taking several steps to eliminate this gender disparity and has cooperated with Knowles' staff concerning this issue.

"We are working hard to talk about usage/attendance of OCS programs with students (and often with parents as well) in the large group presentations that we deliver," Wright-Swadel wrote.

Among other measures, OCS has also placed additional emphasis on ensuring that its career panels and presentations include women.

"OCS will continue to monitor the data to evaluate our progress on this issue; we will continue to speak with students to learn more of the 'reasons why' the disparity exists in certain programs..." Wright-Swadel wrote.

Plans of Action

The FAS report on the status of women confirms that Knowles has also asked a small group of alumnae to work with him to create a plan that will address the issues raised in the seven focus groups.

This 41-member Task Force on Women and Leadership held its first meeting in November and agreed that two areas require concentrated attention--fundraising and alumnae relations.

The Harvard College Fund, which handles annual fundraising for the College, has also initiated a reassessment and planning process this year, according to the report.

Diana L. Nelson '84 was recently named chair of the Harvard College Fund Women's Task Force, a committee looking into ways to increase women's involvement in the Fund