Snobbery in the academy is alive and well and doing harm

A female engineering student walked into her first lab class. One of the male students said: “The cookery class is in another room.” A professor was always willing to drop everything to talk with a colleague. But when one of his research assistants contacted him, he would say to come back later. A student wanted to do a survey and commented to a mathematician friend: “I think I’ll seek advice from some sociologists.” The mathematician responded: “What would they know about it?” Snobbery is a sense of superiority or exclusiveness, often expressed with condescending comments or actions that reject others. Snobbery is found throughout societies. Some people look down on those with less money or who live in a low-status suburb or who don’t speak with the right accent. Then there is snobbery about countries, films, food, manners and knowledge. “Don’t tell me you listen to country music!”