Back "then"

From a Rosalind Franklin bio at the San Diego Supercomputer Center website:

"Wilkins was away at the time, and when he returned he misunderstood her role, behaving as though she were a technical assistant. Both scientists were actually peers. His mistake, acknowledged but never overcome, was not surprising given the climate for women at the university then."

I started my Ph.D. in molecular biology in 1998 and I find the word "then" in the above sentence slightly odd. From what I've heard, conditions for women in science back "then" were much worse, but the scenario described above sounded quite similar to what I experienced and witnessed regularly during my time as a graduate student.

I hope things progress to the point where one day we can look back at that sort of scenario and really feel that it's all in the past.