Radcliffe alumnae prod Harvard toward gender equity.

At the Harvard University commencement in June, vigorous applause greeted the Radcliffe alumnae bearing the banner of the Committee for the Equality of Women at Harvard (CEWH). As they turned the corner they saw President Drew Gilpin Faust applauding with the crowd.

CEWH treasurer Betsy Hatfield, Radcliffe class of '58, savored the moment. "I think that the work of the committee made the appointment of a woman president thinkable," she told WIHE.

High-powered women attended Radcliffe half a century ago, and most were grateful to get in. They weren't allowed to use the Harvard library, though they paid the same tuition and Harvard men could use theirs. They were barred from the clubs that had clout on campus. Harvard Yard, where they took their classes, had only one bathroom for women, in the chapel's basement.

Peggy Schmertzler '53 recalled a dean telling the "girls" that education would help them be good mothers; they could sing nursery rhymes to their children in French. She never noticed the sexism at the time. Later "the veil dropped and we became more perceptive." Dr. Gabriella Schlesinger '58 noticed but didn't think to protest: "It was very much part and parcel of the society at the time."

Over the past 20 years such high-powered women have pushed a reluctant Harvard around a critical corner. Now in their 70s, they're role models for their granddaughters and other women today.

They also model a role for alumnae, who--unlike other stakeholders--can raise a ruckus without fear of repercussions. "It's important for faculty and staff to talk to alumnae if they don't feel free to speak out," Schlesinger said.

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