You've put your finger on something important: "it's not just a matter of working, it's about feeling respected. And I think that component is not there." By paper measures I'm doing decently in academia, but in practice the working conditions, pay, and level of respect from others in academia who don't know my work are not good. (I've made some choices in employment based on geography rather than prestige and will not be allowed to forget that in the near future.)
I don't know how to put it, but it's not just a matter of working, it's about feeling respected. And I think that component is not there.
[1] My last RA work involved going to the website of the top 100 US and international business school, and collecting the number of assistant professors and the details of all the female and African American asst professors. It seems MBA rankings are starting to include that in their rankings so the faculty wants to recruit in those demographics. (And when I reported back that there was not a single African American assistant prof in finance in the top 100, I was told to go back and include the next 50 in the list).