However, all 10 tenured professors of political economy at the Kennedy School are male.

Teaching large social sciences classes is typically more time-consuming than teaching economics courses, because essays take longer to grade than problem sets, say multiple Kennedy School professors.

But teaching large lecture courses fulfills an important requirement for Kennedy School faculty. Consequently, social sciences professors who do not teach many large lecture classes due to the time constraints of grading must spend more time on other tasks such as mentoring or book writing to compensate, professors say.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE

But the gender imbalance could also be explained by many other factors, according to Kennedy School professor Jane J. Mansbridge. Mansbridge was on the 2005 Harvard Task Force on Women Faculty and served for several years as the Kennedy School’s liaison to the Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity.

Unlike other peer institutions, the Kennedy School does not tenure junior faculty, putting significant pressure on young associate professors who must juggle a demanding low-security job and a while potentially starting a family, according to Mansbridge.

“Most universities tenure at the associate level, so you write [your required] book and then you can have a baby,” Mansbridge says.

But to achieve tenure at the Kennedy School, young parents—who Mansbridge says are disproportionately female—have to raise their children while writing books and teaching.

‘A TOPIC OF CONVERSATION’

Kennedy School professors and students raise other concerns about gender equity, including the relatively high number of female lecturers, who are not tenure-track professors, and the pattern of women teaching non-required courses.

“Our women tend to be not in the ladder faculty but in lectureship,” Kennedy School Professor Monica D. Toft says.

And Emily R. Polak, the co-chair of the Kennedy School Progressive Caucus, says there are only seven women out of 30 professors this year teaching core courses for the Master in Public Policy program.

The program requires students to take certain courses during their first year. Called the Core Curriculum, they include classes on markets, economic policy, and management of public organizations.

This situation has triggered frustration among both professors and students.

Sarah B. Bouchat, co-chair of the Kennedy School’s Women and Gender Caucus, says she was able to take classes with four female faculty members so far, but says that was mostly because of her specific areas of interest.