As Harvard's first female professor, Hamilton began cracking the gender barrier in one of America’s most prestigious schools, setting a precedent that encouraged other women to thrive in the academic world. However, she faced resistance and did not receive all benefits that male faculty enjoyed.
Harvard Appointment
Harvard had never appointed a woman to its faculty, and would not appoint another for decades to come, but even the most ardent opponents of women in medicine had to admit that Hamilton was the best in her field." |
In January 1919, Hamilton was appointed assistant professor in the new Department of Industrial Medicine at Harvard Medical School. This made her the first woman ever appointed to Harvard's faculty, twenty-six years before women were even allowed into the school.
Her appointment at Harvard suggests her great talent; otherwise the overseers would have had no trouble in overlooking her. The magic of being a man still counts for a great deal in the medical profession.” Although her employment was a remarkable achievement, Hamilton still faced challenges as a woman. She was excluded from the Faculty Club and social activities and could not walk in the university's commencement ceremony like her male counterparts. These limitations show how Hamilton began to break the gender barrier at Harvard but did not entirely destroy it.
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Yes, I am the first woman on the Harvard faculty—but not the first one who should have been appointed!"
- Alice Hamilton, quoted in American National Biography (1999)