ABSTRACT
When my (older white male) advisor said in response to my inquiry about looking into PhD programs (this was in the mid 1960s) “Oh my dear, you don’t want to pursue a PhD. You want to go home and have babies,” I didn’t even bother to tell him that such an option seemed not in the offi ng for me. I didn’t even object. I just left the offi ce, and, with my diploma, left the University and got a teaching job. It took seven years for me to gain the confi dence to try again. Look around at white women my age in the profession and you will fi nd many similar stories, though what you won’t be able to see is all those who were permanently excluded. Look around at people of color and the stories take on a much sharper edge-and the numbers of those excluded explode.
