As part of its charge, MIT's Council on Family and Work sponsors the MIT Faculty and Staff Quality of Life Survey, which is administered to faculty, other instructional staff, researchers, postdocs, administrative staff, support staff, and service staff on MIT’s main campus and at Lincoln Laboratory. This report emphasizes the 2016 results.

In 1995, the Dean of Science established a Committee to analyze the status of women faculty in the six departments in the School of Science. This report describes the resulting efforts to understand and ameliorate the long-term effects of discrimination in academia.

The committee was asked to (1) determine current demographics and related needs of faculty, staff, and students; (2) review current services, policies, procedures, and benefits affecting family responsibilities, and suggest ways of meeting needs better within the constraints of financial resources; and (3) suggest policies that would help harmonize family and career responsibilities at MIT.

A School of Science study in 1999 found that tenured women faculty often experienced marginalization and inequities in resources for research and compensation. To ensure equitable treatment of women faculty, Provost Bob Brown asked that similar studies be performed in the other Schools of MIT.

The purpose of the 2001 Quality of Life Survey was to investigate the factors that contribute to quality of life for faculty and staff at MIT, and the implications for the future of MIT.

This report concerns the current status of women faculty in the MIT Schools of Science and Engineering. It collates the experiences of women as MIT faculty members in Science and Engineering, and as leaders in their fields. It is a follow up to earlier reports.

This report highlights findings from a deep dive into the results of the 2012 Quality of Life Survey focusing on responses by MIT faculty and staff.