The Unbearable Whiteness of Being...at Harvard
Having said that...
I am surprised that race has not become a bigger part of the discussion at Harvard. Because if women are concerned about their lack of visibility in the university's higher echelons, African-Americans and other minorities have even more reason to be angry. Look around at the Summers administration—it's not exactly the Rainbow Coalition. In fact, "not exactly" is giving Summers too much credit. This group is whiter than a doily.
Summers sometimes seem to think that the rules which apply to everyone else don't apply to him. Even as he talks about diversity and its importance to the student body—even as he co-authors
New York Times op-eds in favor of affirmative action—he has not appointed a single minority to a high level post in his administration. Not one African-American, Latino/a, or Asian-American. So while I have no idea if Desiree Goodwin's lawsuit has merit, I do think that, unless things change, sooner or later Summers is going to get hit with a discrimination lawsuit in which he'll be the named defendant.
The declining numbers of female faculty members at Harvard is a scandal. So is this.
