COLLEGE PARK, Md. (WUSA9) — The University of Maryland is investigating how so-called sexist language ended up on its website.
The Department of Computer Science published a teacher’s assistant handbook that gave different expectations and guidelines for men and women.
The school deleted the handbook this week but not before students saw it.
Annie Bao, who is a computer science sophomore and teacher’s assistant at UMD, shined a light on a section of the computer science departments teacher assistant’s handbook.
“It made me feel like I was inferior— like I wasn’t good enough,” Bao told WUSA9.
The handbook stated that students of female TAs “may experience some difficulty accepting you fully in a scientific field.”
The department of computer science’s website advised that male students may try to challenge the authority of female TAs to trip them up or “compromise your status by flippancy or suggestive remarks.”
The handbook, which has since been removed from the department’s website, advised female TAs to be “patient” to the behavior and assert their competency and authority over the subject matter.
The female TA section of the handbook concluded with saying the conduct can be used as a learning experience that may be needed at some time in the future.
“Students may not be the only ones who will have difficulty accepting you as a professional,” the handbook said.
On the men’s side of the handbook, however, warned TAs to be aware of female students using the male-female dynamic to their advantage by noting “flirtatious or provocative behavior.”
“The gender bias, the sexism still exists in the field. It should not be able to exist in a workplace- in a place of learning,” Bao said.
The university deleted the handbook from its website, and the computer sciences department chair sent a letter to students on Wednesday that called the language in their handbook unacceptable.
“We want to make clear that this document is counter to the values of our department, college and university,” the letter stated.
The university was not able to answer when the handbook was posted, who signed off on it, or why the language was not caught before now.
“We are researching the origin of the handbook to understand how it ended up on our website and why it was not removed before yesterday. Regardless, it should not have been posted, or promoted in any way,” the letter continued.
The university recognized there is a gender gap in computer science that it is working to help close.
Over the last five years, UMD has tripled the number of female students in its undergraduate program.
