The Stories of Women at IUB
Gender-based Biases: These remarks were submitted by the members of Indiana University Bloomington Campus. We hope that by giving these stories space to breathe, we can reflect on how we all could have done better at some time or another, not only for the target person or group of the bias or inequity situation but for the many future students, staff, colleagues, and friends that will be affected if we don’t take steps to improve the social climate.
“Gave me a 30-minute lecture on how I was a sh**** grad student, telling me that because I was a woman I had to work harder... and that this was especially true because I was a Hispanic woman.”
“Implied that I was only in a STEM field because it was male-dominated, and it would be easier to ‘find a mate’”
“Banning students from going to the restroom. Though unsupportive for all students, it's particularly unhelpful to people on their periods.”
“I wrote about many of these instances in my review for his class, as I am sure women before me have, yet he continues to make remarks about women "knowing how to raise a family" or "that is a housewife task."
“[After all these biases against woman]… I'm looking for a new job, out of academia, now. Kind of sad as I have worked in several academic labs in my career and thought that might continue. Not anymore."
Effective Allyship: These quotes describe how men on our campus can practice effective allyship here at Indiana University. While we keep up the good and hard work already being done by allies at IUB, we also hope these stories can be shared and that such positive situations can be replicated widely to create supportive and equitable environments for our women students and colleagues.
“Making sure women are included in the conversation without tokenizing us.”
“I have had male faculty members help me navigate group discussions in situations where others were not acknowledging my points or talking over me. For example, there was a situation where I made a point after a talk and another faculty member interrupted me to say pretty much the exact same thing I was saying. A male faculty member jumped in and steered the conversation back to a place where I could be involved.”
“One professor that went above and beyond consistently highlighted female achievement in the history of the subject (programming) and explained how these discoveries had been obscured through cultural narratives. He did this repeatedly throughout the semester in a professional manner. He also explained to the male students in the class that these cultural narratives were untrue and hurt both men and women.”
“On a course syllabus, a male faculty member this semester provided detailed information on sexual assault procedures, confidentiality, and his requirement to report. While this is not a female-only issue, it does disproportionately affect women.”
