Women

Writing for The Boston Globe, Prof. Karilyn Crockett explores the history of the Home for Aged Colored Women and its residents, noting that “uncovering the stories of these women, many of whom worked for decades as domestic servants for wealthy Boston families, has been a revelation." Crockett explains that: “using US Census records, Ancestry.com, and materials from the Massachusetts Historical Society and National Park Service, students painstakingly sifted through newspapers, birth certificates, and cursive-laden archival records to bring these women to life.” 

Prof. Albert Saiz reflects on a recent study from LendingTree which has found that “single women own more homes than single men in the United States,” reports Claudie Bellanger for Boston.com. Saiz, suggests “that education is a factor, especially in Massachusetts,” writes Bellanger. “The demand for labor in Massachusetts is biased toward highly skilled laborers who have a bachelor’s degree or higher,” says Saiz.

A study by research specialist Samantha Bray analyzes “the career impact on 460 working women aged 50 to 60 who began caregiving for an aging parent or parent-in-law,” reports Michelle Travis for Forbes. “Parental caregiving may act as a shock to women’s financial health at a critical career stage,” says Brady. “Parental caregiving often begins at a time in an individual’s career when they are at their maximum earning potential.”

Forbes reporter Yola Robert spotlights Sloan alumna Mona Patel for her philanthropic work supporting education for girls and underserved communities. “For Patel, her passion for supporting education stems from her experience coming to America as an immigrant student and witnessing how transformational it was for her,” writes Robert. 

Deborah Blum, director of the Knight Science Journalism Program, shares advice she received from her grandmother on sharing compliments, New York Times reporter Sadie Stein writes. “My Kentucky grandmother used to say that the easiest way to make yourself happy is to make someone else happy,” shares Blum. 

Deborah Blum, director of the Knight Science Journalism Program, shares advice she received from her grandmother on sharing compliments, New York Times reporter Sadie Stein writes. “My Kentucky grandmother used to say that the easiest way to make yourself happy is to make someone else happy,” shares Blum. 

Smithsonian Magazine reporter Michael Snyder spotlights Marion Mahony Griffin,  an “inventive and remarkable architect” who was the second woman to earn an architecture degree from MIT. “A brilliant graphic artist with a deep interest in Japanese printmaking, Mahony created the signature aesthetic of [Frank Llyod] Wright’s perspective drawings, bursting with exquisite detail,” explains Snyder. 

Alumna Jessica Galica speaks with Boston Globe reporter Kara Baskin about women in the workforce, and how to create better work-life balance while also pursuing meaningful work. “In 2024, power is the freedom and flexibility to make choices that you want,” says Galica. “I do see women choosing to pause and choosing to downshift as a form of power — because they’re actively and intentionally making that choice. This is a way to exhibit that power, and to go after what you want.”

Emily Calandrelli SM '13 speaks with NPR host Adam Bearne about using her science background to encourage children to explore the world of science. Calandrelli has just published a new book of family friendly experiments called, “Stay Curious and Keep Exploring: Next Level.” 

Times Higher Education spotlights MIT President Sally Kornbluth in a roundup of top universities led by women. “Kornbluth’s academic background is in cell biology. She obtained a degree in political science from the University of Cambridge, and then pursued a PhD in molecular oncology at Rockefeller University.”

Boston Globe reporter Michael Silverman spotlights the 18^th MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. The conference focused on a, “diverse array of heady topics such as artificial intelligence, the globalization of soccer, the next phase of sports ownership, the evolutional of poker strategy,” writes Silverman, noting that “nearly every conversation on stage seemed to circle back to a shared belief that the momentum already carrying women’s sports is on the verge of a new surge.”

Prof. Tavneet Suri speaks with NPR reporter Nurith Aizenman about her ongoing research studying the impact of universal basic income with GiveDirectly, a U.S. charity that provides villagers in Kenya with a universal basic income. Suri says her results thus far, “add to the evidence that many poor people are trapped in poverty by a lack of capital for precisely the kinds of transformative investments they would need to vault them into higher incomes.”

Prof. Tavneet Suri speaks with NPR hosts Ari Shapiro and Nurith Aizenman about her research with GiveDirectly a U.S. based charity that provides villages in Kenya with universal basic income. Suri’s work studies how the method of income delivery payments – monthly income or single lump sum payments – can impact communities. “We need to see if these effects last,” says Suri. “Does it just disappear, or was this enough to keep them going forever?” 

Prof. Nergis Mavalvala, dean of the School of Science, speaks with Wired reporter Swapna Krishna about her work searching for gravitational waves, the importance of skepticism in scientific research and why she enjoys working with young people. Mavalvala explains, “there’s an idea that the greatest scientific discoveries are made by wiry silver-haired scientists. But it’s the work of young people that enables all of these scientific discoveries.”  

MIT Sloan Lecturer Shira Springer speaks with WBUR host Robin Young about the future of women’s sports coverage. “It does require extra effort on the part of the fan to find coverage on the streaming platforms,” says Springer. “And that is a problem because what you are trying to do in women’s sports is convert casual fans to avid fans and maybe bring in people who simply were not aware of what women’s sports offers, and to do what you need to be easily discoverable.”