Do/can universities ask questions about marital status and kids? When I've been an interviewER, the committee was told such questions were not allowable. As an interviewEE, I don't recall such questions but they may have ocurred. A lot can be inferred during an interview, even more during any chit-chat, but such questions should not be part of the decision process.
I have struggled with age issues as an interviewer for semi-low level positions. It can be hard to think an older candidate with lots of experience might not buy into the position compared to a recent grad that will do almost anything they are asked. Again, such factors should not be part of the decision process and I'd like to think I didn't allow my decisions to be swayed by a candidate's age. Matt Buffington -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Allcock, Kim Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2006 2:47 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Ecological Equality? Brit, and ecologgers: We professional moms already have too few hours in the day to work and take care of our families; we can't afford to spend time chatting on list-serves! However, this topic is important and one that I am currently grappling with so I wanted to add my perspective. I am just wrapping up my post-doc and beginning to apply for faculty positions. I have two young children (ages 4 and 1). I have not faced any outright discrimination based on gender or family status, but I do feel like the odds are against me. I have the impression that the general attitude is: having children was my choice, and if I want to be competitive in this field I can't let that affect my professional performance. As I begin my search for an academic job, I realize that my unmarried, childless, or male competitors often have fewer demands on their time, and can therefore devote substantially more time and energy to their research. Competition for academic jobs is stiff, and who's to blame an institution for choosing a candidate with the ability to produce more for the same salary, or for passing me up for tenure in favor of someone else? It is a major conundrum that the years of family building and career building coincide. It is also a reason why the proportion of women to men in ecology shifts so dramatically from undergrad, to grad, to post-doc, to faculty. Many of us become not X-gals as in the Chronicles article, but 'EX-gals' - highly educated and skilled women who decide the cost is too high and gracefully bow out of the academic rat-race. What could help make a difference? More supportive parental (not just maternity) leave policies, affordable and accessible child care, and flexible schedules that might allow for a half-time academic appointment would help. And, what if there was a way to take time off to raise our families, and still be able to get back into the field without having written grants or published in a few years? I don't know how realistic any of that is, but we can dream! Kim Dr. Kimberly Allcock, Post-doctoral Associate Natural Resources and Environmental Science University of Nevada Reno Reno NV, 89557 Ph: 784-1732 [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Britton Estep Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2006 10:48 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Ecological Equality? I love how men keep replying to this topic! Where are the professional MOMS out there?? SPEAK UP! This is a great discussion. I am trying to digest the words, "burden", "hardship", "planning ahead" and the best--- "Even after a woman begins to show, it is pretty delicate to have to ask whether she is pregnant or just putting on weight"---- I think the savvy women on this listserv are having a chuckle. I know I am. I am not sure I really have 2 cents to give, other than look at Norway for an example of a exemplary national system for childcare. Each parent gets 6 months paid maternity or paternity leave. To me this speaks volumes of the priorities of that nation, child rearing, bringing up the next generation of beings is IMPORTANT and to do a superior job you need time, money, love, and energy. America has a lot of re-prioritizing to do. Women work and mother, it ain't one or the other anymore. -Brit On 11/2/06, William Silvert <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > To clarify the "poor planning" part, first of all, it doesn't matter how > long in advance the department knows, if they do not have enough resources > to cover the position of someone on maternity leave they simply cannot do > it. Planning is no substitute for a decent budget. My point was that for > an > institute to tell its department to provide maternity leave (or any other > benefit) without providing financial support for it puts a lot of pressure > on the departments involved to try to get around the issue, and this can > lead to sex descrimination. If we want to get rid of discriminatory > practices, we have to get rid of the incentive to discriminate. > > As for having "4-6 months to plan ahead", that is not always available. > While I think that any responsible employee would provide the information > as > soon as pregnancy has been determined, this does not always happen. Even > after a woman begins to show, it is pretty delicate to have to ask whether > she is pregnant or just putting on weight. In any case, if the pregnancy > is > likely to create hardship for the department, the pressure to conceal a > pregnancy exists. That is another reason why the institute, not the > individual department, should shoulder the financial (and personnel) > burden of maternity leave. > > Bill Silvert > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Bilodeau, Rebecca -- MFG" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2006 5:40 PM > Subject: Re: gender issues in ecology > > > > The issue of someone "suddenly leaving on maternity leave" is a > > non-issue in most cases. Generally the University/company has at least > > 4-6 months to plan ahead. What about staff who suddenly leave on any > > medical leave due to stroke, heart attack, family medical emergencies? > > Everyone has seen examples of that in both men and women. That can > > happen to any person, regardless of gender or age, and is a more > > expensive issue because it is unplanned. In the examples Bill provided, > > it sounded like very poor planning on the department/lab's behalf. > -- Britton Estep-Miller 765.532.7678 "Going from searching for the Ultimate to serving the Ultimate."
