Outtake #4: Life and Death

The final outtake from my September 16 piece. I can see why the editors felt that these might not be a good fit for a book intended to "give students a place to turn when they need inspiration, motivation, and encouragement."

The physicians at Princeton University's health center were quite capable of correctly diagnosing medical conditions when the patient was male, but had more trouble when the patient was female. On more than one occasion they told female students that women can't cope with the stress of Princeton's high workload (never mind that I hadn't had a problem with a higher workload at Harvard), and sent them home without the correct diagnosis or treatment. An undergraduate died after being sent home in such a way. Having survived Princeton, I feel as if I can survive anything.

Outtake #3: Survival

A third outtake from my September 16 piece:

Some things that helped me survive as a mathematician were:

I was oblivious to the sexism for a long time. (Unfortunately, once you learn what it looks like, it's hard to unlearn.) In particular, it took me a long time to figure out how many colleagues viewed me as part of their personal lives and not their professional lives.

I also learned to document things and save evidence. Don't count on being believed; have proof.

Outtake #2: Gender ratio for students at the University of Cambridge and at Churchill College

Another outtake from my September 16 piece:

At Cambridge, gender parity for undergraduates did not happen until 2005. 

A predominately science and technology College, the percentage of Churchill College undergrads who were female was 30% in the 1970s and also now, and 20% in the 1980s. My 1980 photo of "Advanced Students" has a 4 to 1 ratio.