The Progress of Women in Educational Institutions: The Saturn's Rings Phenomenon
Item
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Title
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The Progress of Women in Educational Institutions: The Saturn's Rings Phenomenon
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Description
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This December 1973 report by Mary Rowe to the MIT Academic Council contributed to the discussion resulting in MIT's first policy against harassment. The article describes various aspects of structural sexism.
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This paper describes the minutiae of sexism in large educational institutions. These minutiae are usually not actionable; most are such petty incidents that they may not even be identified, much less protested. They are, however, important, like the dust and ice in Saturn's rings, because, taken together, they constitute formidable barriers. As Saturn is partially obscured by its rings, so are good jobs partially obscured for women by "grains of sand": the minutiae of sexism. Saturn's Rings phenomena are briefly discussed in this paper and then a fictional case study is introduced in an effort to illustrate the cumulative effect of many small events.
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Creator
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Rowe, Mary P.
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Date
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2024-06-25T19:15:32Z
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2024-06-25T19:15:32Z
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1973-12
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Type
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Working Paper
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Format
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application/pdf
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Identifier
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https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/155302
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Mary P. Rowe, "The Progress of Women in Educational Institutions: The Saturn's Rings Phenomenon," report to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Academic Council, December 1973, https://mitsloan.mit.edu/shared/ods/documents?PublicationDocumentID=9445.
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Language
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en_US