We are collecting stories of micro-inequities (and macro-inequities!) directed at women in philosophy AND success stories for dealing with them.   Below you will find a selection of books containing such stories, and below that some recently collected stories.

If you have a story - positive or negative -  please consider posting it on our blog: What is it Like to Be a Woman in Philosophy: http://beingawomaninphilosophy.wordpress.com/

Stories of seemingly small matters or major offenses are all welcome.

We are especially interested in stories drawing out practical implications for making change.  In particular:

1. • what worked in cases where a bad situation was made right?
   

2. • what should have happened that didn't? 
   

3. • what would be required to ensure that the problem you describe doesn't arise again / for others? 
   

Selected stories sent to the email above will be anonymized and posted here.  If the story narrates an event that occurred over 5 years ago, please indicate approximately how long ago it occurred so we can look for changes in the form and/or content of such events over time.

We  also appreciate hearing of stories sent to blogs etc that are in the public domain; send us the link.

THANKS!

Books

Published stories including some women in philosophy:

Singing in the Fire: Stories of Women in Philosophy, ed. Linda Martin Alcoff.  Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2003.

Theorizing Backlash: Philosophical Reflections on Resistance to Feminism, ed., Ann Cudd and Anita Superson. Rowman and Littlefield: 2002.

Women of Color and Philosophy: A Critical Reader, ed., Naomi Zack. Wiley-Blackwell, 2000.

Working It Out: 23 Women Writers, Artists, Scientists and Scholars Talk About Their Lives and Work, ed., Sara Ruddick and Pamela Daniels.  Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1977.

On Micromessages (micro-inequities and micro-affirmations)

Stephen Young, Micromessaging: Why Great Leadership is Beyond Words, McGraw-Hill, 2006.

Some Stories

1) Reader E sends [Feminist Philosophers, 2010] this tale:

1. “...a good friend of mine (a tenured philosophy professor in the states) was just accepted to an NEH summer seminar in [European city]. She’s a single mom and, obviously, wants to bring her son along. But she says she: “has just been given 12 hours to “demonstrate” that she has full-time childcare arrangements for her son for the month of July that “are to the [completely unspecified] satisfaction” of the Institute directors; if she fails to meet this requirement, she has been told her accceptance in the program will be withdrawn. She was notified of said acceptance on Monday.”
   

12 hours to find childcare in a foreign city on another continent, and the requirement to prove this to the satisfaction of some committee. As E says, “Sometimes the ways women get excluded in philosophy are subtle and complicated. Sometimes they are so f***ing obvious they make you want to scream. . .”

2) “It is worth adding that female faculty too often are treated as a potential source for dates and sexual liasons by their male colleagues. But the harassment doesn’t end in the department. It’s quite common for men to treat women as a potential source for dates and sex at philosophy conferences. Women may even be approached by a man with a direct proposal. This is a very uncomfortable situation to be in. If she accept the proposal, this may hurt her reputation as a professional philosopher. If she turns down the invitation, this too may hurt her career. I have been in that situation myself. Within the last 2 years I have turned down two invitations to have sex and/or a romance, and the men involved apparently felt terribly rejected because they stopped inviting me to their conferences (which they used to invite me to). I think this is a real problem in the profession, and one that we really cannot speak openly about for obvious reasons.” [Posted on Feminist Philosophers, 2010]

3) “Here’s another variation in some departments: old coots who openly date young women in their undergraduate classes and then trot them around the department like trophies, expecting other faculty members (especially female faculty) to do favors for the students — writing references, treating them well in their classes, awarding them financial perks in the department (student jobs, scholarships, etc.) . Essentially, the female faculty are pressured to make the pay-off in quid pro quo sexual harassment between male colleagues and young female undergraduates. If the female faculty members refuse to participate, they risk retaliation when it comes time for tenure and promotion. If they complain to administrators, they risk retaliation in the form of relentless campaigns to destroy their professional reputations. A brutal environment I have experienced first-hand…” [Posted on Feminist Philosophers, 2010]

4) “I recently had to cope with an entirely inappropriate and unsolicited “invitation” (groping is actually the more appropriate description) from a senior colleague who attended a workshop at my grad institution and had a bit too much to drink. (Because I was the only participant who hadn’t been drinking and had a car, my advisor asked me to make sure he made it back to his hotel.) It would be naive to think that my rejection has not had (and will not continue to have) negative ramifications.” [Posted on Feminist Philosophers, 2010]

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