Breaking Anonymity: The Chilly Climate for Women Faculty

Alexander D. Gregor is associate dean of the Faculty of Education at the
University of Manitoba and co-editor of Postsecondary Education in
Canada: The Cultural Agenda.

This book provides a useful addition to a growing body of literature on
an institutional climate in Canadian universities that makes women feel
unwelcome as faculty, students, support staff, and administrators; and
on a curriculum and scholarship that ignores or disparages their
concerns, perspectives, and ways of thinking and acting.

Breaking Anonymity had its origins in actions taken at individual
institutions (initially, the University of Western Ontario) to address
these problems, which began to receive serious institutional attention
in the mid-1980s. The anthology draws upon committee reports, discussion
papers, studies, and individual cases in establishing a broad
comparative framework. Included is an interesting account of the
experiences of an aboriginal faculty member. One chapter addresses the
male reaction to the issue, while introductory and concluding chapters
by Alison Wylie discuss the problem in the context of research and
activism.

Breaking Anonymity puts a human face on one of the central issues
facing the Canadian university. The literate and balanced fashion in
which it presents its case is sure to garner a sympathetic general
readership.