At Tuesday’s Faculty meeting, Summers and Dean of FAS William C. Kirby expressed their support for plans to specifically target women in the tenure hiring process not just in the natural sciences but across FAS.

“We look at the total pool and sensitize the search committee if we think [the female candidates] are highly qualified,” Naraynamuri says.

“In borderline cases we may be especially receptive to evaluating a woman,” Hernquist says.

Jones Professor of American Studies Lizabeth Cohen said at Tuesday’s Faculty meeting that the Standing Committee on the Status of Women has recommended the return of an affirmative action dean.

However, Kirby said yesterday that he opposes the plan, preferring to leave oversight of tenure considerations to the divisional deans.

AN IMAGE PROBLEM

Despite moving toward hiring processes that target women, the University suffers from a problem with its image.

Chair of the Department of Astronomy Lars E. Hernquist says that “Harvard’s historic reputation is to not be friendly toward women.”

This image, combined with the perception of Harvard as refusing to promote from within, can be deterrent to prospective female academics, Hernquist says.

If Hernquist were a woman beginning a career, Hernquist says he might favor an institution like Berkeley—which has a reputation for a fairly painless tenure process. “Having a choice like that to me would seem like a no-brainer.”

Huth acknowledges the presence of a “macho culture” in which people constantly try to “one-up” each other by demonstrating their superior intelligence. “This is a turn off when you look to your peers for validation,” Huth says. “I find the atmosphere daunting as well.”

But Margo I. Seltzer, Smith professor of computer science, says she disagrees with the characterization of Harvard’s atmosphere as unwelcoming. “Harvard has an extraordinarily supportive environment,” Seltzer says. “It should be an attractive place to women.”

CHANGING PERCEPTIONS

Indeed, the University has employed policies specifically designed to make the experience for female faculty members more pleasant. “Harvard has done many good things in terms of leave policy and child care,” Narayanamurti says. “People are taking advantage of it.”

And at this week’s Faculty meeting, Summers also said the University would work to slow down the tenure clock, giving female professors the ability to take more time off for child-rearing.