CASE NAME: Joseph v. Rocky Vista University LLC, No. 24-cv-02577 (D. Colo. 09/18/25).
CASE NAME: Joseph v. Rocky Vista University LLC, No. 24-cv-02577 (D. Colo. 09/18/25).
CASE NAME: Averytt v. Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC, No. 2:24-CV-00742 (W.D. Pa. 09/22/25).
What do the physical realities of being a woman—with breasts, a womb, and a vagina—mean in academia? A 21-year-old university student, Devika Mittal (now a sociology professor in India), had to write a letter to the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development of India to request the installation of a vending machine for sanitary napkins and to improve the sanitary conditions of the washrooms at her university. This is not just a story about women in India. The New York Times recently reported how a girl, Alisa Nudar, at Bard High School Early College in New York City, had to rush to the bathroom in the middle of a math exam, only to find herself helpless with no period support. She had to ask each girl coming to the toilet for a tampon, but none had any. Fifteen minutes passed as she waited for her luck to change, and finally a girl came to her aid.
CASE NAME: Gottfried v. University of Colorado Hospital Authority, et al., No. 23-cv-03240 (D. Colo. 09/25/25).
CASE NAME: Chen, et al. v. Hillsdale College, No. 24-1788 (6th Cir. 08/28/25).
CASE NAME: Ardalan v. Shapiro, et al., No. CV-24-02429 (D. Ariz. 09/11/25).
CASE NAME: Holmes v. University of Texas at Austin, No. 1:24-CV-1135 (W.D. Tex. 09/02/25).
CASE NAME: Doe v. Vanderbilt University, et al., No. 3:23-cv-00426 (M.D. Tenn. 08/15/25).
CASE NAME: Melendez v. University of New Hampshire, et al., No. 23-cv-172 (D. N.H. 08/13/25).
If you’ve been in higher education leadership for any length of time, you’ve probably seen the same scene play out: a tightly controlled meeting where a few voices dominate, decisions are made behind closed doors and everyone else is left to execute orders they had little say in shaping. It's ecient, sure, but it's also alienating. And for women leaders in particular, navigating those traditional power structures can feel like running a marathon in heels: doable, but unnecessarily painful.

