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STATUS OF WOMEN Events Chart Progress on Women's IssuesNext Week Is "Women's Achievement Week" at HMS Thirty-four women representing more than two and a half decades of history at HMS celebrated their accomplishments and aired their concerns at a dinner on April 24 sponsored by the Joint Committee on the Status of Women (JCSW). Established in 1974 on the recommendation of the HMS Governance Committee, the JCSW brought together representatives from HMS, HSPH, and HSDM with the charge to "monitor the status of women in the three schools, to locate and identify obstacles to improvement, to recommend changes, and to review and advise on grievances." The committee is concerned with the interests of each female member of the staff, faculty, and student body at the Schools and affiliated institutions.
Attending the April 24 chairs dinner of the Joint Committee on the Status of Women are (l to r) Eleanor Shore, Ann Oliver (former associate dean for faculty affairs at HSPH), and Carola Eisenberg (former dean for student affairs at HMS). Photo by Liza Green "The original committee had a membership of about two dozen," recalled Shirley Driscoll, professor emeritus of pathology and first chair of the JCSW. "We were interested in trying to focus on means to advocate for changes that would improve the status of women, irrespective of their category." Driscoll, who kicked off the ceremony with an account of the committee's inception, was followed by 14 of the surviving 24 chairs and cochairs, sharing brief accounts of the significant issues tackled during their leadership. The event was organized by current cochairs Ilene Gipson, HMS professor of ophthalmology at Schepens Eye Research Institute, and Regina Corry, assistant director for administration and finance at Countway Library. "In order to plan for the future in the current committee, we really need to gather a little historical perspective on things," Gipson said. Some of the earliest issues faced by the committee included the underrepresentation of women on the faculty and discrimination and other obstacles faced by female students. Establishing formal procedures to deal with sexual harassment and creating an institutionally sponsored childcare facility were also early concerns. Although many of these issues are still active, Mary Clark, HMS associate dean for faculty affairs, presented statistics that highlighted the progress that has been made. In 1973, for example, there were only two female full professors at HMS, making up less than 2 percent of the total. Today this number is 67, representing more than 10 percent and on a par with the national average. Eleanor Shore, dean for faculty affairs and the second woman to achieve the rank of dean at HMS, also attended the event. "One of the definitions of success is that it spawns a lot of efforts," she said. A member of the JCSW since 1978, Shore and many other committee members had an active role in one of the recent major women's initiatives at HMS, the National Center of Excellence in Women's Health, established in 1998. Women's Achievement WeekCollective efforts on behalf of women will be celebrated from May 22 to 26, which Joseph Martin, dean of the Faculty of Medicine, has designated "Women's Achievement Week." The events include the Wednesday presentation of the Dean's Award for the Support and Advancement of Women Faculty and the Thursday Women's Health Research Day conference. For more information, see the Upcoming section of WebWeekly (www.hms.harvard.edu/webweekly).—Catherine Chu |
