Academic Career

In 1958, Joshua became chair of the Department of Genetics at Stanford, while Esther and two other women had to petition the dean to use funds, that were supposed to be allocated for the purpose of hiring women, to hire them as female professors (Ferrell 2018). At this time, there were no female professors at Stanford University, although there were several women who met the criteria. Esther and the other two women were highly qualified, however, the dean only offered one position. Esther received it because she was willing to accept the rank of "research professor", otherwise known as "senior scientist", without tenure. Even though Esther was two years older than Joshua, and arguably just as qualified, she obtained the lower rank position, and had to fight to obtain it in the first place. 

Furthermore, she was not promoted to adjunct professor until 1974, fifteen years after being hired (Schaechter 2016). Previously she was considered a senior scientist, a position considered higher rank than her position as a professor. Despite her extensive credentials and education, Esther had to fight to maintain her position at Stanford University. Her former collaborator, Luigi Cavalli, fought for her retention and is quoted saying "Dr. Esther Lederberg has enjoyed the privilege of working with a very famous husband. This has been at times also a setback, because inevitably she has not been credited with as much of the credit as she really deserved." (Ferrell 2018). Stanford ultimately kept Esther "coterminous with research support", meaning her salary depended on grants (Ferrell 2018). Esther worked at Stanford for 27 years, yet she never received tenure, unlike her male colleagues. The gender discrimination of the time ultimately denied her of the prestigious positions she deserved.