Bhakti S. Gaikwad
“Ma’am, why are you so dressed up today?”
The question came from a student. The tone was casual, even playful. But the silence that followed said everything. It wasn’t really a question; it was a reminder. A reminder that women professors, no matter how qualified or committed, are constantly under watch. Not for their ideas, but for how they dress, how they speak, how much they smile.
That question stayed with me. Not because it was unusual, but because it wasn’t. It represented the many subtle, socially sanctioned violations that women in academia face every day; violations that don’t show up in complaint boxes but leave lasting marks on self-worth, career choices, and mental health.
This is where my research began.
The Everyday as Evidence
Over the course of several weeks, I collected responses from young women professors across India; across disciplines, institutions, and experiences. They filled out anonymous questionnaires that asked about experiences of discomfort, harassment, and institutional response. What emerged was not a story of isolated “bad incidents,” but of deep-rooted cultural norms that weaponize politeness, professionalism, and silence against women who dare to be visible.
One professor shared how students began stalking her Instagram after she uploaded a photo of her on vacation. Another recalled being assigned extra lectures after declining a senior male colleague’s invitation for coffee. A third spoke of always being told to “soften her tone” in meetings, even when she was simply asserting her point.
These were not singular outbursts of violence. They were accumulations. Structural. Predictable. Exhausting.
Gendered Harm in Professional Disguise
Academic spaces often pride themselves on being meritocratic, progressive, even feminist. And yet, young women faculty members spoke of being treated as though they needed to “earn their place” again and again. Clothes, smiles, tone, and availability; all became part of the evaluation. Not just by male colleagues, but by peers, administrative staff, and sometimes even other women who had learned to conform in order to survive.
What makes this culture particularly dangerous is that it hides beneath the language of advice and concern. “Be careful with what you post,” “Don’t be too friendly with students,” “Stay low profile for a few years”;these are the phrases that shape women’s experiences long before formal harassment ever occurs.
When violations do happen; whether it’s unwanted online attention, innuendo, or direct intimidation; the existing systems of redress are often inaccessible. Most respondents admitted to never reporting what happened. Some didn’t know how. Others didn’t believe it was “serious enough.” A few feared it would harm their reputation more than the perpetrator’s.
A Culture of Looking Away
The study also pointed to a more collective problem: the institutional instinct to minimize, defer, or dismiss.
Women shared that when they hinted at discomfort or concern, the response was often a version of: “Don’t overthink it,” “That’s just how he is,” or “You have to learn to deal with these things.”
In other words, you must adapt to the culture, because the culture will not adapt to you.
But the most profound insight wasn’t just about what happens to women;it was about what they learn to accept. That their boundaries are negotiable. That silence ensures survival. That success may come at the cost of comfort.
Reimagining the Academic Space
This project does not end with policy recommendations, though they are important. What it calls for, more urgently, is a shift in how we perceive and respond to harm; especially the kind that hides behind routine, tradition, and hierarchy.
True accountability cannot be achieved through paperwork alone. It begins with a willingness to listen to discomfort, to treat the everyday not as “harmless” but as the very place where harm begins.
What if professional spaces could become places of genuine respect; not just in theory, but in practice? What if institutions learned to believe women before asking them to prove their pain? What if young women entering academia didn’t need whispered warnings from seniors, but found a culture that actually welcomed them?
Beyond the Study: A Collective Responsibility
As I close this study, I am left not with a sense of completion but of urgency. The narratives shared were not data points; they were lived realities; stories of quiet courage, everyday negotiations, and unspoken exhaustion.
The burden of navigating this landscape should not fall on women alone. It is time for institutions, departments, and individuals to do the uncomfortable work of reflection and change. Not performatively, but structurally. Not once, but continuously.
Because the next time a student asks, “Why are you so dressed up today?”; we should all know what that question really means. And more importantly, we should know how to answer it.
About the contributor: Ms. Bhakti Gaikwad is a fellow at EGBVF Ending Gender-based Violence Fellowship at IMPRI and is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy & Logic and currently pursuing a PhD in Philosophy from Savitribai Phule Pune University.
Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.
Read more at IMPRI:
Weaponizing Power: How Political Protection Shields Workplace Harassers and Silences Women
Acknowledgment: This article was posted by Bhaktiba Jadeja, visiting researcher and assistant editor at IMPRI.
