The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the Fight for Women in Science

National Archives Museum
Online

In 1999, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology admitted to discriminating against women on its faculty for years, forcing institutions across the country to confront a problem they had long ignored: the need for more women at the top levels of science. Author Kate Zernike, the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist who broke the story for the Boston Globe, will discuss the story of how 16 highly accomplished women on the MIT faculty came together to do the work that triggered the historic admission. The Exceptions centers on the life of Nancy Hopkins, the leader of the 16 and a hero to two generations of women in science. Joining the author in conversation will be Alexandra Pelosi.

Women’s History Month programming is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation through the generous support of Denise Gwyn Ferguson.