Recent raises have acknowledged those second-class years when women earned so little compared to men. But we will never make up the years of low pay. The playing field is still not level. Most importantly, out struggles have altered the dialogue and changed the academy, the ivory tower, and the tree house club in dramatic ways. Slowly but surely we've made women's lives and concerns more visible, even more respectable.
Many more students come to the university from traditional minority groups.
The gays and the lesbians have built extensive networks. More and more the excluded and the invisible have become the majority, the average, the expected. Teaching and writing are more fun than ever. Working in this vineyard and being a small part of this enterprise has rewarded me far in excess of my labors. There is still much to be done.