Thanks to the folks at MomsRising.org for calling much-needed attention to workplace discrimination against mothers and would-be mothers with these pretty alarming statistics:
The American Journal of Sociology recently reported a study which found that mothers are 79 percent less likely to be hired than nonmothers with equal résumés and job experiences.
Mothers also face steep wage hits and unequal wages for equal work. One study found that women without children make 90 cents to a man’s dollar, but women with children make only 73 cents to a man’s dollar. And single mothers make about 60 cents to a man’s dollar.
In addition …
A Cornell University study found that mothers were offered $11,000 less in starting pay than nonmothers with the same résumés and job experience, while fathers were offered $6,000 more in starting pay.
That same study also found that mothers were held to harsher work standards than nonmothers and were taken off the management track for reasons that were not justifiable when compared to the behavior of other workers.
The dirty little secret of the American workplace is that maternal profiling is alive and well and has been for a very long time. We just didn’t have words to label this form of discrimination.
So much for gender equity in the workplace. What are your thoughts? Have you ever encountered this kind of bias in academe?
Also see a related discussion on The Chronicle’s forums.
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3 Responses to Maternal Profiling
stevecovello - May 3, 2012 at 11:09 am
Thank you for showcasing Mr. Campbell’s approach. There were several points made that appealed to me. First: the idea that analytics should reflect our vision of education. Second: that interventions can be predicated on success – not just failure. These are revelations!
To add to the conversation, I have been putting together research for a presentation I will be making at the Emerging Learning Design conference on June 1, 2012 at Montclair State University: “A Proposal for a User-based Learning Analytics Data Collection System” http://bit.ly/IHX5Wk
In theory, I am proposing that the data collection system should be user-based using a feedback system that reflects sense-making methodology proposed by Dr. Brenda Dervin (Ohio State) and Dr. Michael Nilan (Syracuse U). It re-directs the approach to data collection based on viewing online learning as an encounter with an information system where user needs and uses are facilitated. Learners are viewed as “sense-makers”, which compels developers and instructors to create systems that facilitate “sense-giving” rather than simply dispensing information. I think this is complementary to the idea of promoting critical thinking as our vision of education.
The Catalytics project sounds intriguing, and I encourage the producers here to pursue that project in a future podcast. Dervin’s “Sensemaking Methodology Reader” has numerous articles in support of the idea that pairing individuals with differential of experience is consistent with how humans share information towards achieving goals.
betterschool - May 3, 2012 at 11:28 am
Thanks.
Fears of “dumbing down” generally accompany a craft as its components become understood to the point that they are publicly accessible and understood. There is nothing particularly “smart” about misreading student’ needs or teaching in a way that reaches primarily the best students, who would have learned the material without us, and judging that we are successful because we lack compelling data to the contrary.
Learning analytics will chase more than a few unproductive paths (it already has) but it will make substantial contributions to the learning and learning evaluation sciences.
Eric the sceptic - May 17, 2012 at 6:08 pm
Thank you for sharing this illuminating glimpse into “learning analytics” and disclosing some potential ways to improve learning and teaching. Consider me curious.