Motherhood, the Elephant in the Laboratory : Women Scientists Speak Out

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. Contents 8 Acknowledgments 12 Introduction 14 Section I. 1970s 34 Balancing Family and Career Demands with 20/20 Hindsight / Aviva Brecher 38 Extreme Motherhood: You Can’t Get There from Here / Joan S. Baizer 44 Careers versus Child Care in Academia / Deborah Ross 48 Identities: Looking Back over Forty Years as a Social Scientist, Woman, and Mother / Marilyn Wilkey Merritt 54 Costs and Rewards of Success in Academia, or Bouncing into the Rubber Ceiling / Marla S. McIntosh 64 One Set of Choices as a Mom and Scientist / Suzanne Epstein 69 Section II. 1980s 74 Three Sides of the Balance / Anne Douglass 76 The Accidental Astronomer / Stefi Baum 80 At Home with Toxicology: A Career Evolves / Emily Monosson 86 Geological Consulting and Kids: An Unpredictable Balancing Act? / Debra Hanneman 92 Career Scientists and the Shared Academic Position / Carol B. de Wet 96 Section III. 1990s 102 Less Pay, a Little Less Work / Heidi Newberg 106 Reflections of a Female Scientist with Outside Interests / Christine Seroogy 111 Part-Time at a National Laboratory: A Split Life / Rebecca A. Efroymson 115 The Eternal Quest for Balance: A Career in Five Acts, No Intermission / Theresa M. Wizemann 121 Reflections on Motherhood and Science / Teresa Capone Cook 126 The Benefits of Four-Dumbbell Support / Catherine O’Riordan 130 Extraordinary Commitments of Time and Energy / Deborah Harris 134 Finding My Way Back to the Bench: An Unexpectedly Satisfying Destination / A. Pia Abola 138 Mothering Primates / Devin Reese 143 Finding the Right Balance, Personal and Professional, as a Mother in Science / Gayle Barbin Zydlewski 148 What? I Don’t Need a PhD to Potty-Train My Children? / Nanette J. Pazdernik 153 Variety, Challenge, and Flexibility: The Benefits of Straying from the Narrow Path / Marguerite Toscano 158 The Balancing Act/ Kim M. Fowler 161 Juggling through Life’s Transitions / Cal Baier-Anderson 166 Having It All, Just Not All at the Same Time / Andrea L. Kalfoglou 169 Section IV. 2000s 176 Exploring Less-Traveled Paths / Deborah Duffy 180 Standing Up / Gina D. Wesley-Hunt 185 Because of Our Mom, a True Rocket Scientist / Elizabeth Douglass and Katherine Douglass 190 On Being What You Love / Rachel Obbard 196 Parsimony Is What We Are Taught, Not What We Live / Sofia Katerina Refetoff Zahed 200 Role Models: Out with the Old and In with the New / Marie Remiker 207 Pursuing Science and Motherhood / Kimberly D’Anna 212 Conclusion 216 Contributors 222 Emily Monosson has brought together thirty-four women scientists from overlapping generations and several fields of research to share their experiences. 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. Their stories 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