Critical Reading 2

This article, written by Robin Wilson, is about a female MIT professor who took action against
gender bias in the workplace. Ms. Hopkins is a professor of biology at the university who
realized that there was gender discrimination going on around her. Hopkins was one of fifteen
female professors compared to one hundred and seventy four male professors at MIT. Hopkins
had been struggling a lot, feeling like she was being mistreated by the school, and therefore
went to the dean, Robert J. Birgeneau. However, right before she sent her letter to Birgeneau,
she consulted with one of her other female colleagues, who ended up loving her letter because
she had felt the same way. Eventually, the two of them got all the female professors but one to
sign the letter that was to be sent. Hopkins addressed many issues in her letter, including the
fact that there is an unreasonably high proportion of male to female professors. She also talked
about how she was given less lab space for her classes compared to others, which was causing
problems in the classroom. The next biggest issue she confronted him with was one of more
personal matters. Hopkins had developed a curriculum for a class that she had planned to
teach, but the class was given to a male professor instead. Fortunately for her, the letter bode
well on Birgeneau and he has since decreased the gender inequality gap. This push from
Hopkins has led others schools to do the same.
Wilson wrote this article to be informative of the situation going on at MIT and around the
country. He remains in a calm tone that suggests he isnt trying to push the reader to one side
of the argument too vigorously. Although its clear that he is happy the Hopkins is making steps
to improve gender equity, he doesnt force the issue which also adds credibility to himself
because the reader doesnt feel like he has a biased opinion on the matter. He structured his
article with sub headings, which adds to the overall organization and professionalism of the
article, making him seem more credible. The headings and sections go in a chronological order
that starts from the struggles Hopkins faced and ends in the victory she had after fixing the
problems. He also added photos of Hopkins and other female professors, which is a nice touch
and adds a sympathetic feel as the audience tries to relate to the professors.

Wilson, Robin. 1999. "An MIT Professor's Suspicion of Bias Leads to a New Movement for
Academic Women." Chronicle Of Higher Education 46, no. 15: A16-A18. ERIC, EBSCOhost
(accessed March 29, 2017).
This article is about sex discrimination in the workplace and uses a real world example at MIT to
show how the gender inequality gap is being reduced. Wilson claims that many women are
being treated unfairly by a gender bias. The author informs the reader about a special case
where a female professor at MIT took action towards her unfair treatment and ended up not only
fixing her own issues but getting other schools around the country to fix their gender gap
problems. He wants readers to know about the problems many women face at school and work
and how these problems are being solved.