Next President Should Be Sensitive To Women’s Issues

To the editors:



Re “Kirby Bids Farewell in Letter,” news, May 8:

Almost 2,000 alumni and other friends of Harvard joined the Committee for the Equality of Women at Harvard (CEWH) 13 years ago to ensure an equitable climate for women and to increase the number of tenured women faculty at Harvard.

Although other constituencies will raise many considerations for the Presidential Search Committee, CEWH believes that Harvard must find an individual who knows and understands women’s issues in order to be a leader in higher education.

From the 1971 Bynum-Walzer Report of the Committee on the Status of Women in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, to the two task force reports in 2005, the message has always been the same: “limited progress” for women faculty at Harvard.

The Search Committee must examine closely a presidential candidate’s commitment to the implementation of the 2005 Task Forces Reports on Women Faculty. In addition, the Search Committee should be sure to inquire about plans for future action and examination of all matters bearing on gender equity throughout the University.

With women constituting slightly more than half of the enrollment of higher education institutions across the U.S., the new president has a great opportunity to be a leader in ensuring that the nurturing of the talent and education of women has a place unequalled in previous history.



GABRIELLA P. SCHLESINGER ’58

New London, Conn.

May 11, 2006



The writer is co-chair of the Committee for the Equality of Women at Harvard.