Letters to the Editor
-
Women have needs that men don't have
"Women have needs that men don't have that sideline them from their career. Whether it be maternity leave, or unevenly distributed parental responsibilities." -- CitizenRob
I don't mean to be accusatory but part of the problem you're asking about is assumptions such as the one you make in the quote above. Raising children isn't a need that women have, it's a need that society has, and which women are, as we see in this quote, not just expected to do out of duty but out of some biological destiny. Men are just as capable of checking homework, making lunches, laying out clothes, drawing baths, changing diapers and rocking babies to sleep as women are. Indeed I think part of the solution is to begin thinking of childcare as the responsibility of the father as well as the mother, who should ideally distribute the labor however they see fit. And the woman whose husband stays home with the kids ideally shouldn't be thought of as someone who has abandoned her child in a forest.. I do work with women like that and I can assure you they didn't choose a mate based on his ability to be aggressive and take risks or whatever the stupid alpha male stereotype supposedly does that makes him incapable of child and homecare.
-
just wanted to weigh in
I've really enjoyed this letters thread and all the great commenters, male and female. The posts have been thoughtful and free of simplistic diatribes. Although long, the letters have all been interesting.
Thanks to everyone for a fascinating thread. Would that it were always like this!
-
women in technology
I was in an architectural program 18 years ago, as a single mom of four small kids. The student population was around 90% male. A visiting lecturer told us that architecture is a very competitive field often requiring an 80 hour work week, and that we would not succeed without a supportive spouse/partner.
I dropped out and went into liberal arts because my family came first, and I had no supportive community or spouse. I miss the life I could have had as an architect, and often day dream about architectural design.
Looking back, the only way I could have staying in architecture was if the parameters of the job were changed to coincide with my family responsibilities. When I was in school, I envisioned a company run by family-oriented employees, a cooperative, where we were competitive because we worked as a team, with individual members having the right to take time at home as needed, or to work from home. I also envisioned a foundation with ample resources, such as a "club" where members could mingle and have drinks, go to the gym, network, have family picnics, get discounted travel, etc- like the good ol' boy network without the golf. I asked this question of myself (because I had also worked in construction prior to going to school): 'Would a crew entirely composed of women have been able to build the egyptian pyramids?' My answer was 'Yes, because the female mind and body are basically capable of the same things as the male mind and body; we would just need to scale the tools to a woman's frame, use more cleverly designed leverage systems, and work cooperatively to allow family responsibilities. But yes, we could build a pyramid.'
If family-oriented scientists and techies invest in building family-supportive and non-predatory environments, women will come, girls will come.
But we will never get the "family" out of the "female", nor should we try to. It will improve our society across the board to become more humanistic. We need to start investing in this, putting our cash into investments that create good work and network environments for women, and for the men who have the same perspective.
-
I am one of those
I am a 35 year old woman with a PhD in a basic and translational field of research. I loved active research, yet recently left to become a pencil pusher. After spending 10 years working 60+ hours a week with little recognition, reward, and zero retirement savings, I want to have a kid or two. I want to have some health coverage and not to be homeless at 65. Some of these issues cross gender lines, true, but when it comes down to it, women have babies, men don't. Women are still consistently getting less recognition and compensation for the same work. And if you stand up for yourself when dismissed and push for earned rewards, you are considered a bitch.
-
Yes, that's me.
"The authors report that women drop out most frequently about 10 years into their careers, when they hit a "perfect storm" in their mid- to late 30s of career hurdles and increased family pressures. "
I'm 38, mother of one young child, and a heretofore "successful" junior scientist (PhD) in public health. I've worked with increasing seniority and recognition in consulting, industry, and now as junior faculty for an academic department of an Ivy League university, and am doing work I find challenging and relevant. But I'm also spending time every day imagining how and when I'll leave research for another less draining profession.
There seems like too little left of me after a full time work week, always something I should be doing in my off hours to further a grant proposal or manuscript or presentation, and the level of additional work I'll have to put in to rise any further where my department trends to men having the more senior faculty positions is not a trade off I'm willing to make. So I am frequently musing whether I'm Ok with the idea of just consciously deciding to level off and not ascend further in my field, just treading water for another, oh, 30 years until I might be able to retire, or should sell out to industry where I might be able to make enough money to at least curtail my working years earlier, or might change fields to a job where I can leave work at work and be present with my family (and god forbid, myself as well) in my off hours, and "have a life".