January 18, 2008
More on the Daddy Track
Following up on the recent discussion about the daddy track, I’d like to call readers’ attention to this recent Boston Globe article about “on-ramping” programs for the growing number of stay-at-home dads who are trying to return to work. Discuss.
By Gabriela Montell | Posted on Friday January 18, 2008 | Permalink |January 7, 2008
Maternal Profiling
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.
By Gabriela Montell | Posted on Monday January 7, 2008 | Permalink | Comment [5]November 30, 2007
Gender-Bias Friday
By way of the Freakonomics blog comes word of an article in Scientific American about why women are underrepresented in science, engineering, and mathematics. Read more.
Meanwhile, check out this article in Slate about why many women leaders, despite doing great things for their constituents, receive little thanks and lower approval ratings than their male counterparts.
And thanks to Feminist Law Professors and Ms. JD for pointing out Ann Farmer’s informative article in Perspectives, a quarterly magazine published by the American Bar Association, about a troubling academic-hiring trend whereby women are increasingly being ghettoized in less prestigious, non-tenure-track jobs.
Finally, advice from the Juggle on how to stay off the mommy track.
By Gabriela Montell | Posted on Friday November 30, 2007 | Permalink |