Women Pioneers at MIT 1871 - 1967 Barbara A. Gilchrest, M.D. Speakers Program MIT Class of ’67 50th Reunion These PowerPoint slides are provided with the caveat that the 50th Reunion verbal presentation by Dr.Gilchrest consisted substantially of remarks and qualifications not shown on the slides, so that some of her points, as well as the animation of several slides, cannot be appreciated in this format. The presentation is proprietary and none of the material should be reproduced for any reason without her explicit permission. DISCLAIMER

Information is hard to find and many “authoritative” sources are mutually contradictory. “Facts” are open to interpretation. I did my best in the time available.

Example: The Class of 1967 had 21 to 39 women students. Ellen Swallow Richards 1873: First Woman MIT Graduate First woman with a chemistry degree in the U.S.A. What You May Not Know About Ellen

• Graduate of Vassar College: B.S. 1870; M.S. 1873. • 1871: Admitted to MIT “off the books.” Required to perform all lab work separate from the men and to wear “proper” hot, heavy, long dresses.

• 1872-1873: Due to MIT’s fiscal straits, assigned to replace the janitor unpaid, keeping the labs clean.

• 1873: Awarded “Artium Omnium Magistra” degree by fellow students.

Source: Pamela Curtis Swallow, The Remarkable Life and Career of Ellen Swallow Richards, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2014 What You May Not Know About Ellen Efforts on Behalf of Other Women

• 1873: Establishes and teaches courses in laboratory science to women (teachers) at Boston’s Girl’s High School.

• 1873-1876: Convinces MIT to allow instruction of women in science. MIT’s conditions for her:

◇ Raise money to equip lab and then select equipment ◇ Maintain the lab without MIT’s assistance ◇ Teach all classes as an unpaid assistant instructor

Source: Pamela Curtis Swallow, The Remarkable Life and Career of Ellen Swallow Richards, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2014 What You May Not Know About Ellen Efforts on Behalf of Other Women • 1876: Women’s Laboratory opens, Ellen trains >500 women over 8 years (first lab devoted to teaching science to women).

Source: Pamela Curtis Swallow, The Remarkable Life and Career of Ellen Swallow Richards, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2014 What You May Not Know About Ellen Efforts on Behalf of Other Women • 1876: Begins to teach lab science to women (unpaid) as part of the Society to Encourage Study at Home, the prototype correspondence course.

• 1881: Helps found Girls’ Latin School in Boston. • 1883: Convinces MIT to admit women as regular students. • 1889: Organizes MIT’s Women’s Association (later AMITA) and serves as first president. • 1876-1911: Mentors women students, inviting them into her home, often helping with MIT tuition, involving them in her projects. Source: Pamela Curtis Swallow, The Remarkable Life and Career of Ellen Swallow Richards, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2014 What You May Not Know About Ellen Personal Background • Raised on a farm, mostly self-educated (1842-1859). • Employed as a school teacher (1864-1866). • Served as principal caretaker for her widowed mother (1871- 1892). • Married MIT professor Robert Hallowell Richards ‘68 (1875). No children, but an extraordinarily happy marriage. • Exceptionally active and effective public health advocate: ◇ Generated first U.S. water quality standards ◇ Established first “health food store” ◇ Overhauled Boston’s school lunch program ◇ Introduced and popularized the concept of ecology

Source: Pamela Curtis Swallow, The Remarkable Life and Career of Ellen Swallow Richards, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2014 What You May Not Know About Ellen Career Highlights…and Slights • 1872-1874: Recruited by MIT Professor William Nichols to “help” conduct Massachusetts’ first water survey; he then left for a project in England, and afterwards acknowledged her “help.”

Source: Pamela Curtis Swallow, The Remarkable Life and Career of Ellen Swallow Richards, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2014 What You May Not Know About Ellen Career Highlights…and Slights

• 1876: Women’s Lab opens after three years of Ellen’s efforts and vision; Professor John Ordway, who referred to her as “that little woman chemist,” was appointed director.

• 1878: Elected as first woman fellow in AAAS; MIT declined to confer a doctoral degree in Chemistry

• 1881: Co-founds what became Woods Hole Marine Biology Laboratory.

Source: Pamela Curtis Swallow, The Remarkable Life and Career of Ellen Swallow Richards, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2014 What You May Not Know About Ellen Career Highlights…and Slights

• 1884: MIT establishes the laboratory of Sanitary Chemistry, based on Ellen’s teachings, and hires her as an instructor (PAID!), the first and only woman on the MIT faculty. She was allowed to teach men!

• 1887-1889: The Great Sanitary Survey. Ellen again, under the supervision of a male colleague, personally performs >100,000 water and sewer analyses. Appointed official water analyst for Massachusetts, travels widely as the acknowledged leading expert.

Source: Pamela Curtis Swallow, The Remarkable Life and Career of Ellen Swallow Richards, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2014 What You May Not Know About Ellen Career Highlights…and Slights

• 1910: Receives an honorary Doctor of Science degree… from Smith College.

• 1911: Dies at age 68, having never been promoted beyond instructor at MIT.

Source: Pamela Curtis Swallow, The Remarkable Life and Career of Ellen Swallow Richards, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2014 “Dancing Bear” MIT Women Students 1873-1941

• After Ellen Swallow Richards, next woman student at MIT enrolled in 1884 (13 years later). • Records haphazard, but 1,081 women appear to have enrolled 1884-1941 (average of 68 women per year). ◇ Few graduated (~5%) ◇ No on-campus housing or support system ◇ Chemistry and architecture leading majors ◇ Few could find employment in her field of study ◇ Most subsequently employed as teachers, but some made notable professional contributions

Source: M.A. Bever, B.S. Thesis for Humanities Department, 1976 MIT Women Students And Then…

• A gradual increase in enrollment of women from ~60 to ~160 per year, proportional to total enrollment, until 1960.

• In 1960, an all-male MIT faculty committee voted to discontinue admitting women.

Source: Various MIT websites and MIT Museum MIT Women Students And Then… Dean Kenneth Wadleigh objected.

Source: Various MIT websites and MIT Museum MIT Women Students And Then… • Dean Wadleigh convinced MIT President James Killian and Chancellor Julius Stratton not only to admit women, but to improve their environment and resources.

• In the Class of 1964, 25 women and 874 men had equal rates of graduation (84% and 86%). MIT Women Students And Then… • MIT accepts a gift from Katharine Dexter McCormick (MIT ’04), to build the first women’s dormitory on campus. MIT Women Students And Then… • 1963 Our class arrives: 21 women and 915 men • MIT had 10 women faculty, most in humanities. ◇1 tenured (1968): Dean Emily Wick MIT Women Students And Then… • 1963 Our class arrives: 21 women and 915 men • 1964: MIT’s women faculty mostly in humanities. ◇1 tenured (1968): Dean Emily Wick

• 1967: Our class graduates: 92% of women and 94% of men ◇3% women overall Of Course, MIT Was Not the Last Place I Found Myself in the Minority

Dermatology Congress Photo (circa 2000) Who Were the MIT Class of ‘67 Co-Eds?

Degree Major Preparation 12 25 E.S.R.

19 9

13 21 6 6 11 3 E.S.R. 0 2 H.S. Only Some College 3 6 College 5 Degree 4

0 Biology Math Physics Other Class of ‘67 Co-Eds’ Marriage and Children

Time of Marriage Child Rearing 20 12 E.S.R. 15 E.S.R. 9

10 6 11 13 7 5 9 3 4 3 2 2 0 1 0 Before At After Never None <1 1-3 3-10 >10 MIT MIT MIT Years Out of Workforce What Did These Co-Eds Do? Major Activity 4-6 Years After Graduation 16 12

8 15 E.S.R. 4 6 4 0 1 Graduate or Employed in Employed in Unemployed Professional School Degree Field Unrelated Field Major Activity Over Past 50 Years 15 E.S.R. 12 9 6 12 11 3 3 0 0 Employed in Employed in Serially Employed Degree Field Unrelated Field in Different Fields Class of ‘67 Co-Ed’s 50 Year Perspective on MIT

Would You Recommend MIT’s Role in Life Since That Today’s High School Graduation Girls Attend MIT? 18 18

14 14 11 E.S.R. E.S.R. 9 17 7 14 4 7 5 5 6 0 0 2 1 Many Strong None Only if STEM Yes Probably No Interactions Influence Career Not Only Progress in the Professional Lives of MIT’s Women Graduates 1873-1967 Well, the class of ’67 co-eds all found jobs…

Work Life Satisfaction Personal Satisfaction 20 25

20 15 15 10 19 10 20 5 7 5 6 0 0 0 0 High Moderate Low High Moderate Low But MIT Was Largely a Meritocracy… And For Some Co-Eds the Real World Was Not

Class of ’67 Co-eds’ Experience

Gender Bias in the Workplace

15 E.S.R.

12

9

6 12

3 7 3 4 0 Definitely Probably Possibly No Take Home Messages

We’ve come a long way, baby!

Self-confidence, thick skin, determination, and a sense of humor help. MIT is not immune to cultural biases regarding women…but it’s always been ahead of the curve.

Outstanding visionary MIT leadership at critical times placed MIT at the forefront of gender equity for women in science and engineering throughout its history. Take Home Messages

And it’s still getting better!

• MIT President Susan Hockfield (2004-2012) • Current academic year (2016-2017) ◇ 2,086 women undergraduates (46%) ◇ 2,326 women graduate students (34%) ◇ 227 women faculty (22%) Women at MIT 1871-1967 We were all pioneers! Acknowledgements

MIT Alumni Office

MIT Museum

Class of ’67 Co-Eds (survey respondents) Robert V. Ferrara ‘67

Susan Schur ‘60