Organization of Women Faculty (OWF)

In 1981, 72 percent of all women faculty at Northwestern held the rank of assistant professor or below. One-third of all women faculty were lecturers-a position that did not even guarantee library privileges. Many with higher rank held merely one-year visiting appointments. And high rates of attrition guaranteed that most women faculty would never have a chance at tenure. 

Thanks to the OWF and its allies, working conditions and opportunities for women faculty at Northwestern University have seen marked improvements over the past two decades. 

• OWF Letter to the President June 2017 
• Report of Faculty Senate Salary and Benefits Committee May 2017 
• OWF Consultant Report and Recommendations September 2005 
• Task Force on Women at Northwestern April 1994 
  • Appendices I-IV
  • Appendices V-VI
  • Appendices VII-VIII
• Committee on Women in the Academic Community 2000/2001 

In its first year, OWF

• Successfully campaigned against a discriminatory TIAA-CREF policy that paid retired women on the single annuity option a monthly payment of 15 percent less than would be paid to a comparably situated retired male. In 1983, TIAA-CREF amended the plan.
• Drafted the University’s first comprehensive sexual harassment and grievance procedure policy. This draft served as the foundation for a policy that, in its current form, has been hailed by Harvard University as a “best practice” model.
• Collaborated with the Program on Women (later the Program on Gender Studies) to assess the experience of all women–students, faculty and staff–in the University community. These efforts eventually led to the establishment of the University Women’s Center.