A Ladies Brunch and Feminism

I'm a feminist. I've been a female for a long time now. It'd be stupid not to be on my own side.                                                                                    - Maya Angelou

The following is an email that I sent this evening to the Dean of the College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Excuse me. I apologize for not reading the July business info e-mail earlier, but I was shocked when I read it this evening and saw the title of the August 10th event, “MBAs & Mimosas: A Ladies Brunch at HUB 51.” I thought those “ladies” events were long over. I’ve lived through years of being the spouse of a physician (when most physicians were male) and being invited to attend ”ladies events.” However, as a holder of 3 degrees from the UIUC (including an MBA), I don’t want to be addressed by the term “lady” in any business or professional situation, nor do I think those pondering an MBA should be so addressed either. This is just one example of how women do not have equality in the workplace, in universities, or in our society as a whole. How subtle you’ve been and how prejudiced.

 

Need I remind you that I filed a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights when I was denied admission to the EMBA program in the early 1980s. How sad that little has changed in the College of Business.