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Money for Mommies
Wednesday, July 20, at 1 p.m., U.S. Eastern time
Many scientists, particularly female ones, struggle to keep all the components of a busy academic career going while their children are little. A handful of programs, including ones at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and the Harvard Medical School, are trying to help by giving grants to female scientists to hire extra help in their labs, their classrooms, or even at home so that their careers do not suffer while they raise their children.
Can such short-term help make much of a difference, when the burden of caring for children lasts for years? Should universities really encourage professors and postdocs to spend less time in the lab, or pay their day-care bills? And are such grants unfair to men and women who work hard but do not have children?
» Family Science (7/22/2005)
Eleanor G. Shore was dean of faculty affairs at the Harvard Medical School until January, when she became senior consultant to the school's Office for Academic and Clinical Programs. During her 40-year career at Harvard, Dr. Shore -- who has three children and three grandchildren -- worked as a primary-care doctor, performed research, and served as an administrator. Ten years ago, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of women's admission to the medical school, she started a grant program to help new professors free up time for research.
Robin Wilson (Moderator):
Hi, I'm Robin Wilson and I write about work and family issues for The Chronicle. I'm really pleased that Dr. Shore could be with us today. She has faced these issues herself, while working at Harvard Medical School as a teacher and primary care doctor, as well as a researcher and administrator. She has three children and three grandchildren. Thanks for being here with us today, Dr. Shore.
Eleanor G. Shore:
I am pleased to have the opportunity to enter into an online discussion with readers of the piece on Family Science since the need for additional support for junior faculty with conflicting responsibilities must exist in all our academic institutions. Sharing of ideas about existing programs should stir up our creativity in creating new programs, or expanding old ones.
Eleanor Shore
Robin Wilson (Moderator):
Let's go to the first question, then, from Kate Quinn. It has to do with whether these family-related benefits should be available to men, as well as women. This is something that I can see -- by scrolling through some of our initial questions today -- is important to a lot of readers.
Question from Kate Quinn, University of Washington:
If these funding options are only available to mothers, won't they contribute to the concept of the "mommy track" or the notion that moms can't 'cut it' in the workforce? I understand that moms tend to shoulder the majority of child care, but shouldn't these options be available to dads who provide primary care? Can you envision a way to open these options to whichever parent provides primary care? Thank you for your feedback.
Eleanor G. Shore:
I agree with you that support for junior faculty should be made available to male faculty members as well as women. At Harvard Medical School, since the inception of the Fiftieth Anniversary Fellowships 10 years ago, men as well as women have been eligible to apply. Men as well as women have received fellowships, although a larger fraction have gone to women because personal responsibilities and obstacles are factored into the equation by the faculty committee making the selection of those fellowships administered by the Medical School. Men who have won the fellowships have had extra family responsibilities such as multiple children (triplets), sick children, sick wives, or graduate student wives.
I should also note that these fellowships are not limited to parents. Faculty members without children who have extraordinary clinical loads and need protected time have received fellowships, as have ones with increased need for research assistance at times when they have not yet gained enough independent research support. Responsibilities may also include care of elderly infirm parents, not just children. The HMS selection committee (there are also hospital selection committees) has a formal process in which 2/3 credit is given to academic promise and 1/3 to the weight of the individual faculty member's personal responsibilities and obligations.
Question from Richard Cassalata, Central Arizona College:
We live in a society of victims and it appears those female scientists are now the new “victim of a male majority”. If women receive money since they are single mothers to peruse a science career, then it would be logical to demand that male scientist who pays child support should also receive financial support from their institutions. The anti-male laws of the family court system destroy families and have a negative effect on men’s financial future and career. The real question is when will this liberal ideology be extinguished from our university system so that both men and women will be viewed as equal instead of just another affirmative action case.
Eleanor G. Shore:
I would like to clear up a misunderstanding. Men as well as women are eligible to apply for the Harvard Medical School fellowships. In the Family Science piece in this week's Chronicle of Higher Education you will see that an example of one of the recipients happened to be a male. Since one of the factors in the competition for these fellowships is the personal obligations and responsibilities that the junior faculty member faces, the evaluation does not use gender as the deciding factor. One curious observation is that the men seem to have more difficulty describing their personal obligations and responsibilities in the application. Perhaps they have been less accustomed to asking for help in this regard.
Question from Gillian, large public research university:
How, when the planet is grossly overpopulated and polluted, do we justify such pro-natalist policies?
Eleanor G. Shore:
My response is that these programs have never been conceived of as social enginnering policies. Rather, they have been viewed as one means for allowing freedom of choice as to what kind of career tracks young faculty wish to pursue. Without these kinds of support, junior faculty may have to choose a career in which their academic talents are not fully utilized, to the detriment of society as well as to themselves.
Question from Saranna Thornton, Hampden-Sydney College:
If the definition of a "fair" workplace benefit is one that everyone will utilize we shall have to give up free parking (it discriminates against those who walk or use public transportation), health care coverage for prostate cancer screeening (discriminates against women), health care coverage for cervical cancer screening (discriminates against men), free use of college gyms (discriminates against those who don't exercise), etc.
For a variety of reasons (costs, taxes, etc.) workers prefer some of their compensation in the form of benefits -- rather than salary.
The question I have about this specific work/family fringe benefit is:
What are the costs and benefits to the university? Recruiting new faculty to replace those who don't get tenure because of temporary interuptions in their life time productivity (e.g., childbearing/childrearing) costs money too. Maybe the benefits of retaining a parent whose lifetime productivity will be high is worth the cost of this benefit?
Eleanor G. Shore:
If a University's primary mission is the pursuit of knowledge and the teaching of the next generation of students, it is absolutely essential that the University attract the most talented faculty possible. Talent is not limited to one gender or the other. There is a real danger if a University overlooks the talent among its junior women by failing to support them for those limited periods of time when temporary support may spell the difference between staying in academia and leaving.
I agree that Universities should be looking at the lifetime contributions rather than the temporary disruptions.
Robin Wilson (Moderator):
Here is a comment from one of the women quoted in The Chronicle article, who received money from the University of Washington.
Comment from Martha Bosma, University of Washington:
This colloquy should not be entitled "Money for Mommies". That is somewhat inflammatory and misrepresents some of the programs under discussion in the article, as well as trivializing the issues. The Advance program at the Univ. of Washington makes an effort to help males and females, and the "transitions" (the reasons for help) have not all been child-related. My Advance grant was not given to me because I had a child - it was because I was caring for a young, medically fragile disabled child. The effect of having such a child was as devastating on my husband's research project and trajectory as on my own - the major difference between us is that he was already tenured, and thus was not as critically impacted.
One omission from the article is that the Advance grant that I received was the seed money for a major NSF grant that I obtained later. Both the federal government and the UW got a good return on their initial investments in my career (education, training grants, setting up a lab), as well as sound research-based results on my project.
Question from Saranna Thornton, Hampden-Sydney College:
One follow-up question please.
In my experience I have seen few faculty or administrators raise a ruckus, or question a professor's commitment to his career, when the professor says, he needs additional secretarial support to be productive, or a faster computer, or better Internet connections, etc.
So, what is so different about a woman (or a man), who is a parent, asking for an additional lab tech, money to cover children's daycare while away at a conference, etc.
Given that money is fungible, what is the difference between paying $5000 for part-time secretarial support for a male professor -- or $5000 for a part-time lab tech for a female professor who is also a mother?
Eleanor G. Shore:
I agree. There is no difference. With a shift in awareness of individual needs, there may come a time when supplementary fellowships may no longer be necessary. But, culture changes come slowly, and in the meantime I think these fellowships highlight the needs and make them much more visible to the faculty and administrators.
Comment from Sharon Pearce, BCNHS:
What are some schools that do this? I have many young mothers about to graduate from HS who would benefit from such assistance.
Robin Wilson (Moderator):
Dr. Shore, let me try to address that one. Sharon, if you are asking whether these programs provide money for young mothers who are entering undergraduate school and need academic and financial help, the answer is: No. These programs are specifically to help professors or postdoctoral students -- in the lab or with childcare.
Undergraduate students receive help from universities -- i.e. subsidized child care, scholarships -- in all sorts of other ways through separate programs.
Question from Virginia Augusta, Cornell:
Successful careers begin (and end) in graduate school. Why aren't resources made available to help women with kids during their graduate training? [To Cornell's credit grant money is now available to employees and students to help offset child care expenses.]
Eleanor G. Shore:
Resources to help with child care are greatly to be desired. The Harvard Medical School fellowship support has been limited to buying protected time or buying additional research assistance only because we did not have sufficient financial resources to tackle the child care costs. I think this is a societal problem for all working women and that a national solution is imperative. Federal support should yield a big dividend in terms of increased productivity and satisfaction for the parents and assured care for the children. Which of our senators or representatives might be willing to take this on as a major initiative?
Question from Chequeta Allen, Stanford University:
At Harvard, was there any thought or discussion about making this program available to postdoctoral research scholars, and if not, do you believe such a program would be apt for postdocs? Why or Why not?
Eleanor G. Shore:
I think it would be ideal if there were similar fellowships for postdoctoral research fellows. The problem has been the lack of sufficient funding. With limited funding, we have targeted those junior faculty members whose positions on the academic ladder need to be secured. Federal funding that took into account those periods of time when extra help might make the difference between capitalizing on the talent of trainees and losing it would be extraordinarily helpful to biomedical sciences generally.
Comment from Judy, Major Research U.:
Where do I sign up? I think this could prove to be essential aid for working prof./moms who are trying to jump an ever-higher tenure bar on less than 40 child-free hours per week. If we value the perspective that mothers bring to academe, then let's help them to be successful.
Question from Phyllis Carr, Boston University School of Medicine:
Focusing on this issue makes it too easy to make this the predominant issue when I don't think that it is. I also think that there can be a backlash to funding childcare or providing other resources that could be negative in the long run. Providing mentoring to junior women faculty about these issues and how to manage them seems a more balanced approach and in the long run more sustainable.
Eleanor G. Shore:
Mentoring is certainly richly to be desired. (And, I should add that Harvard does not use these fellowships to fund childcare.) However, there are needs for protected daytime and additional research assistance that mentoring can not provide. The modest sums made available are valuable not just for the monetary value but for the visibility the fellowships bring in terms of increased awareness of the value of what the junior faculty member proposes to do with senior faculty sponsorship. In fact, that sponsorship might be viewed as another kind of mentoring.
Question from Gloria Thomas, ACE:
Who are the biggest critcs of this initiative for female academics who are mothers--male or female academics without children? I'm sure some critics view this as preferential treatment. How is such critism handled?
Eleanor G. Shore:
We have not had many critics since fellowships can be awarded to male or female academics without children if they can demonstrate individual need. The only significant criticism we have received has been that not enough have been available to the basic research faculty since many of the fellowships have been funded by hospitals or clinical departments. We are making an effort to expand our funding sources so that there are more for which basic scientists can apply.
Question from Norma Hubele, Arizona State University:
I have the possibility of creating such a program for our engineering faculty, is there a document that you could share to author such a proposal to my administration? What is the source of your funding?
Eleanor G. Shore:
Yes, we could help in providing background information. Send me an email addressed to eleanor_shore@hms.harvard.edu.
As for funding, this is a patchwork quilt of sources. We have fellowships funded by institutions such as Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, all the large affiliated hospitals, departments, divisions, foundations, friends, senior faculty, and alumni, in other words anyone we can persuade that the return on the investment can be extraordinary.
Question from Judith Long, Rutgers U:
Is there evidence available yet from this or similar programs proving that this aid improves productivity? If so, what are the productivity indicators? I imagine that such evidence would be the first step in convincing other institutions to adopt such a program. Thank you.
Eleanor G. Shore:
We have done a web based survey of all recipients over the 10 years and have about a 70 % response so far. Their record of publications, external funding, teaching, and promotions has been excellent. As you can imagine, the problem is to find a control group. The only one nearly comparable is the group of applicants who did not receive funding, and that selection introduces a bias from the start. The fact that the number of fellowships has expanded every year (10 fellowships 10 years ago, expanded to 58 fellowships for 2005) indicates that department and division heads as well as the hospitals and research institutions regard this as a valuable way to enhance the productivity of some of their junior faculty.
Question from Cindy, prospective academic:
Is the need for an extra monetary allowance to support children really a reflection of the low salaries given to junior faculty? If academic jobs paid a comparable wage to that of industry, would the extra programs even be necessary?
Eleanor G. Shore:
This extra monetary supplement is not for childcare. Rather it is to buy protected time during the day so that the faculty member can focus on research, writing, or curriculum development when mentally alert, rather than trying to squeeze these activities into late nights and weekends when the personal obligations are likely to be so compelling that the academic work doesn't get done. Also, the fellowships can be used to purchase research assistance to speed the research work. Higher salaries are always to be wished for, but that must be the subject of another live colloquy.
Question from Burcin Bayram, Miami University, Oxford, OH:
I am very excited about the existence of such program that provides female scientist support. I think it is absolutely fair to male scientist. I have 7-months old triplets and I am an experimentalist in Atomic Spectroscopy. I am working toward my tenure; this year is my 3rd year. As soon as I get home, there is no way for me to even eat until babies go to sleep. I can not possibly write a paper or do any job related work at home compared to my male colleagues. The child care center here at Miami University called Mini University did not help me out at all. They did not take any of the babies because of the waiting list which is about 12 months. I explained them about my situation but still they put me on a regular waiting list. I almost cried when I return with no hope of finding a way to get back to my work. I spent my life for studying including postdoctoral training at University of Michigan. Then finding a job and establishing a research, building a laboratory etc. always put me behind making a family until age 36 – compared to male scientist, they already have at least 8-9 years old children. I finally found a baby-sitter after trying tens of them through advertising in newspapers locally and state-wise. Until I found one, I had to stay home for a long time. My point is that, at least university should have helped me replacing the babies at child care center. If they do not then I think Woman in Science program should somehow help me to get into the child care center…Because I was away, I could not get any students because I could not advertise my research during my maternity leave. I think extra money would help to bring student into the lab…
Eleanor G. Shore:
The shortage of good child care, particularly for infants, is a critical problem nationally. There may be times when you have to be content with just keeping up with the field and doing whatever work fits with your family responsibilities, with the expectation that your career can gather momentum when you children enter full day schools. Does your University extend the tenure clock for children? Would it be a triple extension for triplets???
The kind of fellowship with which I have experience would provide funding for a research assistant or some fraction of the salary of a postdoctoral fellow. This can make a big difference if there is additional help in the lab to carry out experiments or analyses at times when you can not be present. Or, it can simply add another pair of hands to expedite the research.
Glad you found a baby-sitter. Treat her very well. She may be the most important part of this equation.
Robin Wilson (Moderator):
Well, we've come to the end of the hour. Obviously, many people are interested in these issues. Dr. Shore, thanks for being with us and answering readers' questions
Eleanor G. Shore:
I'm impressed by the number of institutions who are facing the same problems in supporting talented junior faculty. Local solutions are helpful, but federal solutions are much to be desired if the entire talent pool of junior faculty is to be tapped.
Thank you for letting me be the guest responder today. Your questions were excellent.
Eleanor Shore