Well the trend is continuing! The Giants won the Superbowl in 2008 (the year Nadia was born), the Steelers won in 2009 (the year Ian was born), and the Giants won in 2012 (the year we're expecting our third to be born). I wanted to take a pic of Paul and the kids wearing their matching NY Giants baseball caps, but I couldn't find the kids' caps! Maybe I left them in Florida in August? I hope not! I did find two Giants' tablecloths I bought on clearance awhile ago (for $1.64 each although the original price was $10.99 each). My team lost the Superbowl last year. That was a HUGE bummer. I was so relieved that Paul didn't have to experience that today.
On Friday one of our adjuncts made a joke by making an announcement that she is pregnant (she's not really). She has been a FT temp for us for a couple of years, and she just defended her dissertation in November. She recently applied for a tenure track position in our department, and I'd be stunned if she didn't get the job as everyone has been pleased with her the last couple of years, and now she has her doctorate. Another professor laughingly said well the rumors are going to go around campus that xyz is pregnant. She said it with a smile on her face.
The reason I'm sharing this story is because the response of my department chair floored me. He said in a very serious (horrified) tone of voice that it would NOT be good if that rumor went around campus. In other words, it would hurt her chances of being hired for the tenure track position if she was pregnant (she has a few school age children). What discrimination that would be! The ironic part of it is that my department chair is gay. You'd think he'd be sensitive to that type of discrimination. There are currently four women in our department who are tenured or tenure track. One of them had her first baby about 18 months ago. She took one semester off and then came back FT. Another has a son in high school (he was in middle school when she came to our department). The other is in her early forties, and she and her husband never had the desire to become parents (they treat their dogs like they are their kids). If the fact that a woman might become pregnant is viewed as a reason not to hire her, then I guess they're going to favor hiring either men or women who are at least in their 40's. I thought that being a professor would be a "family friendly" type job (more so than being a principal), but maybe I was wrong, especially as I also consider my Dean's statement to me a week ago that "no matter how sick my child is, my department's needs should come first." I think not. I care deeply for my students, but if push comes to shove, I will always choose my children as my higher priority.
Well the trend is continuing! The Giants won the Superbowl in 2008 (the year Nadia was born), the Steelers won in 2009 (the year Ian was born), and the Giants won in 2012 (the year we're expecting our third to be born). I wanted to take a pic of Paul and the kids wearing their matching NY Giants baseball caps, but I couldn't find the kids' caps! Maybe I left them in Florida in August? I hope not! I did find two Giants' tablecloths I bought on clearance awhile ago (for $1.64 each although the original price was $10.99 each). My team lost the Superbowl last year. That was a HUGE bummer. I was so relieved that Paul didn't have to experience that today.
On Friday one of our adjuncts made a joke by making an announcement that she is pregnant (she's not really). She has been a FT temp for us for a couple of years, and she just defended her dissertation in November. She recently applied for a tenure track position in our department, and I'd be stunned if she didn't get the job as everyone has been pleased with her the last couple of years, and now she has her doctorate. Another professor laughingly said well the rumors are going to go around campus that xyz is pregnant. She said it with a smile on her face. 
The reason I'm sharing this story is because the response of my department chair floored me. He said in a very serious (horrified) tone of voice that it would NOT be good if that rumor went around campus. In other words, it would hurt her chances of being hired for the tenure track position if she was pregnant (she has a few school age children). What discrimination that would be! The ironic part of it is that my department chair is gay. You'd think he'd be sensitive to that type of discrimination. There are currently four women in our department who are tenured or tenure track. One of them had her first baby about 18 months ago. She took one semester off and then came back FT. Another has a son in high school (he was in middle school when she came to our department). The other is in her early forties, and she and her husband never had the desire to become parents (they treat their dogs like they are their kids). If the fact that a woman might become pregnant is viewed as a reason not to hire her, then I guess they're going to favor hiring either men or women who are at least in their 40's. I thought that being a professor would be a "family friendly" type job (more so than being a principal), but maybe I was wrong, especially as I also consider my Dean's statement to me a week ago that "no matter how sick my child is, my department's needs should come first." I think not. I care deeply for my students, but if push comes to shove, I will always choose my children as my higher priority.
No comments:
Post a Comment