Stanford University

"While it is gratifying to work at a university where the bounds of knowledge are being pushed, and where you have the opportunity to contribute to students' flourishing, it is also demoralizing to have your contributions so undervalued in terms of compensation. Like other organizations, there are great folks and not-so-great folks. Your overall experience will depend on your manager and the culture of your team. "

"There's a growing desire to change the landscape for women at Stanford but you still have to advocate for yourself. "

"Great medical and time off benefits; more challenging work-life balance for employees who are specialized (e.g. only one in that role in their department)"

"Varies depending on who you have as a manager and where you work. Culturally it can vary. It can be quite good or mediocre depending on management"

"It's a great experience to work for Stanford; I highly recommend it."

"Find out what the culture and particular practices are for each department. The leadership in each department influences how work is done day to day. "

"Be professional at all times. Polish helps. Do what you say and say what you do."

"Overall Stanford is an amazing place to experience, however there is too much money and people that are unrealistic or downright inappropriate with how they treat each other as humans. Gender, political and social diversity are encouraged as long as you fit the "cool" stereotype of diversity. "

"The Financial Aid Office is the most unhelpful and disorganized institution at Stanford. "

"It has good perks but not great pay considering the location and the fact it is a top university."

"The building I work in has about a 50/50 ratio, so Stanford is definitely hiring women in my area of campus. I am fortunate to have wonderful colleagues who support each other. If it was not for the welcoming community, then I would have left two months into employment (like I said, my supervisor is not the easiest person but I think the relationship has improved). Stanford has an active sexual harassment and discrimination office and offers mandatory training for all incoming employees. Supervisors are required to take a special class on sexual harassment (they are in a position of power). Lastly, many of my colleagues are parents, married or about to be married. Given my experiences, I would suggest Stanford to other women."

"The pay and hours are pretty standard "work hard so at you at least have something nice on your resume." Men and women are treated just as poorly when you're at the bottom of the totem pole in a research lab, but generally women have fewer pay raises, if any."

"Your experience as a graduate student at Stanford will depend almost entirely on 1) your department, and 2) your PI. If you plan to have kids in graduate school, make sure to have a boss who is explicitly cool with that, or else your life could become hell..."

"There are a lot of women in graduate school, but fewer in the upper ranks of professor."

"The "paid" portion is actually disability pay, for which there is a bit of effort needed to enroll and maintain. Pay is either at 55% or 60% of your normal salary. The 2 weeks unpaid is actually the waiting period between disability and CFRA benefits where they can take, on average, 80 hours from your vacation time for those two weeks if you have vacation time saved up."

"Partial pay during leave. Not as generous as you'd think for a big university. Very dependent on role you are in how time off is viewed."