Motherhood, the Elephant in the Laboratory

Emily Monosson (Editor)

Description

About half of the undergraduate and roughly 40 percent of graduate degree recipients in science and engineering are women. As increasing numbers of these women pursue research careers in science, many who choose to have children discover the unique difficulties of balancing a professional life in these highly competitive (and often male-dominated) fields with the demands of motherhood. Although this issue directly affects the career advancement of women scientists, it is rarely discussed as a professional concern, leaving individuals to face the dilemma on their own.To address this obvious but unacknowledged crisis-the elephant in the laboratory, according to one scientist-Emily Monosson, an independent toxicologist, has brought together 34 women scientists from overlapping generations and several fields of research-including physics, chemistry, geography, paleontology, and ecology, among others-to share their experiences.From women who began their careers in the 1970s and brought their newborns to work, breastfeeding them under ponchos, to graduate students today, the authors of the candid essays written for this groundbreaking volume reveal a range of career choices: the authors work part-time and full-time; they opt out and then opt back in; they become entrepreneurs and job share; they teach high school and have achieved tenure.The personal stories that comprise Motherhood, the Elephant in the Laboratory not only show the many ways in which women can successfully combine motherhood and a career in science but also address and redefine what it means to be a successful scientist. These valuable narratives encourage institutions of higher education and scientific research to accommodate the needs of scientists who decide to have children.Contributors: A. Pia Abola, biochemist, writer, and editor; Caroline (Cal) Baier-Anderson, University of Maryland, Baltimore; Joan S. Baizer, SUNY Buffalo; Stefi Baum, Rochester Institute of Technology; Aviva Brecher, U.S. Department of Transportation, Volpe Center (Cambridge, Massachusetts); Teresa Capone Cook, American Heritage Academy; Carol B. de Wet, Franklin & Marshall College; Kimberly D'Anna, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Anne Douglass, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; Elizabeth Douglass, Scripps Institute of Oceanography; Katherine Douglass, George Washington University; Deborah Duffy, University of Pennsylvania; Rebecca A. Efroymson, U.S. government research laboratory; Suzanne Epstein, Food and Drug Administration; Kim M. Fowler, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Debra Hanneman, Whitehall Geogroup, Inc. and Earthmaps.com; Deborah Harris, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Andrea L. Kalfoglou, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Marla S. McIntosh, University of Maryland; Marilyn Wilkey Merritt, George Washington University; Emily Monosson, toxicologist and writer; Heidi Newberg, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Rachel Obbard, British Antarctic Survey; Catherine O'Riordan, Consortium for Ocean Leadership; Nanette J. Pazdernik, independent author and molecular biologist; Devin Reese, National Science Resources Center; Marie Remiker (pseudonym); Deborah Ross, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne; Christine Seroogy, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Marguerite Toscano, independent geoscientist, writer, and editor; Gina D. Wesley-Hunt, Montgomery College; Theresa M. Wizemann, Merck & Co., Inc.; Sofia Refetoff Zahed, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Gayle Barbin Zydlewski, Cove Brook Watershed Council and University of Maine

Sujets

• Higher education

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 15 août 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780801459078
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Motherhood, the Elephant in the Laboratory

Motherhood, the Elephant in the Laboratory

Women Scientists Speak Out

E D I T E D BY Emily Monosson

ILR Press an imprint of Cornell University Press Ithaca and London

Copyright © 2008 by Cornell University Copyright © 2008 by Heidi Newberg for “Less Pay, a Little Less Work”

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.

First published 2008 by Cornell University Press

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Motherhood, the elephant in the laboratory : women scientists speak out / edited by Emily Monosson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 9780801446641 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Working mothers—United States—Biography. 2. Women scientists—United States—Biography. 3. Women scientists— Family relationships—United States. 4. Motherhood—United States. 5. Work and family—United States. I. Monosson, Emily. II. Title. HQ759.48.M68 2008 306.36—dc22

Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetablebased, lowVOC inks and acidfree papers that are recycled, totally chlorinefree, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.

Cloth printing

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To all the women in whose footsteps we’ve followed, and to those who choose to follow in ours

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Section I. 1970s

Balancing Family and Career Demands with 20/20 Hindsight Aviva Brecher

Extreme Motherhood: You Can’t Get There from Here Joan S. Baizer

Careers versus Child Care in Academia Deborah Ross

Identities: Looking Back over Forty Years as a Social Scientist, Woman, and Mother Marilyn Wilkey Merritt

Costs and Rewards of Success in Academia, or Bouncing into the Rubber Ceiling Marla S. McIntosh

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One Set of Choices as a Mom and Scientist Suzanne Epstein

Section II. 1980s

Three Sides of the Balance Anne Douglass

The Accidental Astronomer Stefi Baum

At Home with Toxicology: A Career Evolves Emily Monosson

Geological Consulting and Kids: An Unpredictable Balancing Act? Debra Hanneman

Career Scientists and the Shared Academic Position Carol B. de Wet

Section III. 1990s

Less Pay, a Little Less Work Heidi Newberg

Reflections of a Female Scientist with Outside Interests Christine Seroogy

Part-Time at a National Laboratory: A Split Life Rebecca A. Efroymson

The Eternal Quest for Balance: A Career in Five Acts, No Intermission Theresa M. Wizemann

Reflections on Motherhood and Science Teresa Capone Cook

The Benefits of Four-Dumbbell Support Catherine O’Riordan

Extraordinary Commitments of Time and Energy Deborah Harris

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Finding My Way Back to the Bench: An Unexpectedly Satisfying Destination A. Pia Abola

Mothering Primates Devin Reese

Finding the Right Balance, Personal and Professional, as a Mother in Science Gayle Barbin Zydlewski

What? I Don’t Need a PhD to Potty-Train My Children? Nanette J. Pazdernik

Variety, Challenge, and Flexibility: The Benefits of Straying from the Narrow Path Marguerite Toscano

The Balancing Act Kim M. Fowler

Juggling through Life’s Transitions Cal Baier-Anderson

Having It All, Just Not All at the Same Time Andrea L. Kalfoglou

Section IV. 2000s

Exploring Less-Traveled Paths Deborah Duffy

Standing Up Gina D. Wesley-Hunt

Because of Our Mom, a True Rocket Scientist Elizabeth Douglass and Katherine Douglass

On Being What You Love Rachel Obbard

Parsimony Is What We Are Taught, Not What We Live Sofia Katerina Refetoff Zahed

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