Records of the Harvard University Women Students' Coalition, 1974-1982
Overview
The Women Students' Coalition report, "The Quality of Women's Education at Harvard University: A Survey of Sex Discrimination in the Graduate and Professional Schools," and the questionnaires on which the report was based; minutes; correspondence; member lists; conference materials; and other materials documenting the activities of the Harvard University Women Students' Coalition and the Women Students' Coalition at the Kennedy School of Government as well as Cynthia Dahlin's involvement in activities in the Boston-area centered on the concerns of women students.
Dates
- Creation: 1974-1982
Creator
- Harvard University. Women Students' Coalition (Organization)
Language of Materials
Materials in English.
Access Restrictions:
Access. Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright. Copyright in the records created by the Harvard University Women Students' Coalition is held by the President and Fellows of Harvard College for the Schlesinger Library. Copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.
Copying. Records may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.
Extent
.83 linear feet (2 file boxes)The records of the Harvard University Women Students' Coalition contain the Women Students' Coalition report, "The Quality of Women's Education at Harvard University: A Survey of Sex Discrimination in the Graduate and Professional Schools," and the questionnaires on which the report was based; minutes; correspondence; member lists; conference materials; and other materials documenting the activities of the Harvard University Women Students' Coalition and the Women Students' Coalition at the Kennedy School of Government as well as Cynthia Dahlin's involvement in activities in the Boston area centered on the concerns of women students.
Series I, THE QUALITY OF WOMEN'S EDUCATION AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY: A SURVEY OF SEX DISCRIMINATION IN THE GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS, 1979-1980 (#1.1-1.8), consists of the Women Students' Coalition report, "The Quality of Women's Education at Harvard University: A Survey of Sex Discrimination in the Graduate and Professional Schools," and the questionnaires on which the report was based. Questionnaires contain demographic information about respondents and questions relating to incidents of sexual discrimination, including sexual harassment; the impact of gender on faculty-student relationships; the impact of gender on students' relationships with each other; support for women's professional objectives; and work-life balance, including access to day care, diverse course schedules, and athletic facilities. Files are arranged alphabetically.
Series II, CYNTHIA J. DAHLIN FILES, 1974-1982 (#1.9-2.11), includes minutes, correspondence, member lists, notes, conference materials, clippings, and other materials documenting Cynthia J. Dahlin's involvement in the Harvard University Women Students' Coalition, the Women Students' Coalition at the Kennedy School of Government, and activities in the Boston-area centered on the concerns of women students. Also included is correspondence, press releases, and background material relating to an affirmative action policy violation complaint filed with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) against the Kennedy School of Government by the Women Students' Coalition at the Kennedy School of Government with assistance from the Women's Equity Action League (WEAL) of Massachusetts. Dahlin was a PhD student at the Kennedy School and was a silent complainant in the OFCCP case. Folder titles were created by Dahlin and folders contain contextualizing notes by her.
HISTORY
Founded in 1978, the Women Students' Coalition included students at all the graduate and professional schools at Harvard except the Business School. The only university-wide organization concerned with women's issues, its purpose was to promote equal educational opportunities for women at Harvard and to provide a platform for women graduate students to discuss women's issues including sexual harassment, affirmative action, and work-life balance. In 1979, they developed a survey of sex discrimination at Harvard's graduate and professional schools and in May 1980, they published a report on their findings titled "The Quality of Women's Education at Harvard University: A Survey of Sex Discrimination in the Graduate and Professional Schools."
ARRANGEMENT
The collection is arranged in two series:
- Series I. The Quality of Women's Education at Harvard University: A Survey of Sex Discrimination in the Graduate and Professional Schools, 1979-1980 (#1.1-1.8)
- Series II. Cynthia J. Dahlin Files, 1974-1982 (#1.9-2.11)
Physical Location
Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession numbers: 80-M241, 2022-M91
The records of the Harvard University Women Students' Coalition were given to the Schlesinger Library by the Women Students' Coalition in November 1980 and by Cynthia J. Dahlin in April 2022.
Processing Information
Processed: November 2023
By: Johanna Carll
The Schlesinger Library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit. Finding aids may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
Creator
- Harvard University. Women Students' Coalition (Organization)
Subject
- Harvard University--Students (Organization)
- Title
- Harvard University. Women Students' Coalition. Records of the Harvard University Women Students' Coalition, 1974-1982: A Finding Aid
- Author
- Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
- Language of description
- eng
- Sponsor
- Processing of this collection was made possible by the Alice Jeannette Ward Fund.
- EAD ID
- sch02254
Repository Details
Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository
The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.