What do you call a female professor?

Recently I found out two very upsetting things.

1. If you google "What do you call a female professor," a surprising number of searches come up asking that exact question.

2. My Computer Science professor revealed that in an email sent to the faculty, the male professors were addressed with titles - the female professors were not.

Some people might ask "what is the big deal?" It's just a title right?

It's a big deal because becoming a professor is difficult - for anybody. Not just anybody can get a PhD and out of the small percentage who have a PhD - not all can get hired at a university. The title of professor is something that each person earns through years and years of education, diligence, and growing expertise.

Cornell prides itself on diversity and inclusion. In fact, more females were enrolled in the College of Engineering for Class of 2021 than males. Very few schools around the country can say they have achieved such a thing.

Yet, even at an institute that highly respects its members, people make the mistake of separating female professors from male professors. Every member of the faculty here is brilliant. Whether you love their teaching methods or not, they have earned their spot through skill that is not easy to gain.

In a university setting - Professor is about the highest level you can be at. When we fail to call female professors by the proper title, we are bringing them down to a lower level. Even worse, when we call female professors "Mrs." or "Ms." we are implying that their relationship status has more significance than their authority and expertise that they rightfully earned.

This is a big deal. I believe that the reasons we forget to address female professors by the proper title is often out of habit. I don't think that most students or fellow faculty members often have malicious intent to revoke the status of the professor. But it's a habit we need to learn how to break, because they deserve the same respect and the same treatment as their male co-workers.

So next time you want ask a question in class or send an email, remember that it doesn't matter their gender. They are the professor, and have earned that title - so use it!