Breast Beware
The office I work in for my day job subscribes to The Chronicle of Higher Education. The December 10, 2004 issue excerpted a series of e-mails from their “Academic Job Search” forum on whether the breastfeeding mother of a 7-month-old should ask for pumping breaks while she’s interviewing for faculty positions.
The responses are worth reading. Some are supportive of the mother, including one from a chair who said they have honored such requests in the past and think nothing of it.
Many of the reponses, however admonished the mother to "keep things in perspective" and not let this little period in her life jeopardize her academic career. I was stunned. I always think of universities as one of the more progressive major institutions in our country. And here are the very people teaching in and getting degreed by them saying best keep motherhood in the closet.
The responses are worth reading. Some are supportive of the mother, including one from a chair who said they have honored such requests in the past and think nothing of it.
Many of the reponses, however admonished the mother to "keep things in perspective" and not let this little period in her life jeopardize her academic career. I was stunned. I always think of universities as one of the more progressive major institutions in our country. And here are the very people teaching in and getting degreed by them saying best keep motherhood in the closet.
posted by doulicia at 2:52 PM
1 Comments:
Ugh! Reminds me of pumping at Law Review. We had two solid days of interviews for the next year's board. I had to take breaks in somebody else's office because the outlets in mine didn't work. I like to think I did my part in educating my 23-year-old male co-editors, who were absolutely freaked out, especially when they saw The Pump. Hee hee!
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