Professor Valverde's
Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia opened my eyes to the discrimination and unjust that women of color face in academia. I have very little knowledge on this subject, but after reading it, I realized how it is relevant in every career field. In the beginning, I was shocked to learn of her near death experience. It is outrageous that someone who went through a traumatic experience has to worry about her tenure more than her own health. Women have to make the difficult choice to either sacrifice starting a family for a higher position or sacrificing a promotion to start a family. Going on maternity leave should not set women back from getting a tenure. Professor Valverde also mentioned how the administrators used her disability against her to deny her tenure. In Asian culture, mental health is not talked about and sometimes it is even shameful to have mental health issues. It is unfair that a woman can have all the qualifications for a position, but is denied based society believing that women are incompetent to men. As a woman of color myself, I felt empowered after reading the manifesto. It is important to stand together to fight against the system. I believe that this manifesto will help people who are too afraid to fight for their tenure and help their voices be heard. A stereotype of Asians is that they are quiet and hard working, but Asians must speak up for their rights against racism. Will this manifesto have a huge impact on the amount of women in academia in the near future?
image from
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/google-yuri-kochiyama-doodle-peace-activist/
References
Valverde, K.-L. C., & Dariotis, W. M. (2020). Fight the tower: Asian American women scholars resistance and renewal in the academy. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
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