And according to Mallinckrodt professor of physics Howard Georgi '67-'68, Harvard's women faculty are given salaries equal to their male counterparts.

But faculty say that Harvard's tenuring policies, evolving only slowly out of a near-blanket refusal to promote to the senior level, greatly reduce the numbers of top female scholars knocking on Harvard's door.

"In order to get the very best, if you tell them Harvard never promotes, they're not going to come," says Susan R. Suleiman, Douglas professor of the civilization of France and professor of comparative literature.

Of course, Harvard's record on granting tenure discourages junior men and women equally from taking positions at Harvard.

"Everybody comes in knowing they're going to seek a tenure-track position somewhere else," says Stephen H. Biel, director of studies for history and literature.

But this pattern makes the task of remedying historic inequalities much more difficult. And many talented female scholars who come to Harvard early in their careers--like Pellegrini--are lost for good when their career prospects become apparent.

"Harvard is not a tenure-track institution, and we lose a lot of women early in their careers," says Kenan professor of English Marjorie Garber. "Every [female] loss is more visible and problematic."