I am a woman.

I have a PhD, a Master’s degree, and I am a Registered Professional Planner.

I am a tenured full professor.

I had to warn fellow female students not to go into the office of a certain male professor, during my masters.

I had to discuss my decision not to wear makeup with my male PhD supervisor. And babysit his kids. And find another supervisor when he told me that, as a woman, I’d be better off teaching at a college, not doing research.

I have had to raise the issue of sexual harassment in my current position. And, like a lot of female faculty members, I do way too much service. I had a student tell me in front of my class that women are fuzzy thinkers and should not be professors.

But no one ever shot at me for pursuing my studies, or doing my research or teaching my classes.

It is easy to forget that women, along with others, face challenges in the academy and elsewhere. One way to remember is to celebrate those women who make the challenges worth facing, who support all of us, women, men, trans, non-human, through their studies. I am working on the IWAU to remember.