Academia's Glass Ceiling: IHEs Must Work Harder to Reverse Prejudiced Beliefs about the Male/female Achievement Gap

Drew, David E., University Business

Harvard president Lawrence Summers created a firestorm of controversy when he rashly speculated that the under-representation of women faculty in science and engineering may result from innate biological differences between the genders. He later said his remarks were misconstrued, but he should have known better.

Every university faculty member and student should be free to express his or her opinions and ideas. That concept is fundamental to the idea of a university. We cannot defend academic freedom only for those with whom we agree. Nonetheless, there are three reasons Summers's statements are disturbing:

* His statements fly in the face of the latest scientific research.

* Summers is a distinguished …

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Publication information: Article title: Academia's Glass Ceiling: IHEs Must Work Harder to Reverse Prejudiced Beliefs about the Male/female Achievement Gap. Contributors: Drew, David E. - Author. Magazine title: University Business. Volume: 8. Issue: 3 Publication date: March 2005. Page number: 88. © 2009 Professional Media Group LLC. COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group.

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