That You Don't Know What You've Got ‘Til It’s Gone.

I saw this posted on Facebook and I know right away that I had write a blog post…

Why Do Some Professors Still Think Women Science Students Are Stupid?
Study shows widespread bias against female science students that is not just discriminatory; it's also threatening our economy.
AlteNet
By Laura Gottesdiener
September 27, 2012

When former Harvard professor Lawrence Summers said that there were “innate differences” between the genders that led to fewer professional female scientists, he kicked off a firestorm of debate about why women are still so absent in the field. 

On Monday, a study revealed some answers--and it was the professors, not the female students, who were to blame.

When asked to rate an imaginary student based on only a single-page resume, science professors considered the male student more competent, and said they were more likely to hire him for a laboratory position or agree to mentor him.
[…]
Under the study, 127 science professors at six universities across the country read either John or Jennifer’s resume and then rated him or her on a scale of 1 to 7 for competence, hireability, starting salary and mentoring capacity.

On average, John scored a 4 out of 7 for competence and received a starting salary of $30,328. Jennifer, on the other hand, scored only a 3.3 out of 7 for her competence and received a starting salary of $26,508--nearly $4,000 less than John. The professors similarly devalued Jennifer in terms of hiring and mentoring.

I wasn’t surprised. I know many trans-women who were in positions of leadership when they transitioned and once they transitioned it was like they became wallpaper. Even when people didn’t know their history it was like they had lobotomy. One person that I know has an MBA from a major east coast university and was a project manager, at a meeting the customer thought she was a secretary(the customer didn't know her history) and asked her get coffee for them. While on the flipside, I know a trans-man who says that at a meeting anything he says everyone is nodding their heads in agreement and before no one listened to her.

We are in a unique position to see male privilege, “…you don't know what you've got ‘til it’s gone.”