After more than 10 years as a microbiology professor at the
University of Kansas Medical Center, Dolores Furtado learned
that she was being underpaid. "It was a routine audit by the
university in the early 80's," she says. It showed that her
salary was several thousand dollars less than that of two male
professors with comparable qualifications. While Furtado did get
a minor salary increase, in the form of a $1500 teaching award
added to her salary, she says that today she still makes far
less than the average for her department. "I still remain at the
bottom, and I've been here 29 years," she says. Furtado's
experience mirrors the history of women's salaries all over
academia. They were discovered to be underpaid many years ago,
but they're still no better off today. A 1975 survey of faculty
salaries in higher education by the American Association of
University Professors (AAUP) showed that women made 10% less
than men, which wasn't bad, considering that the wage gap for
all professions then was 41%. However