Women Scientists with families

This reminds me of the show Bones. When Dr. Brennan leaves the group to go off alone and follow her personal dreams, looking for the “missing link” overseas, the entire “team” falls apart. No, she does not have a family or children, but it becomes very apparent that when one scientist is absent for any period of time the other scientists suffer. In one episode, “The Mastodon in the Room,” Cam nearly loses her job because she cannot identify a body that comes to her lab. Dr. Brennan made the decision to leave and it causes all of her other co-workers to “take-off,” leaving Cam alone in the lab to solve the many mysteries of all the deaths that come to her lab. Throughout the series, Brennan has precedence over her co-workers but is still teamed up with her partner agent Booth. I am kind of curious why they team her up with a man and not a woman. Of course it makes the drama of the show a lot more interesting and the oblivious relationship the two shares would never be possible if Brennan was paired with anyone else, but this may give rise to the belief that women scientists are not quite “fit” to handle the job alone. Again, taking a little credit away from women in science.

Overall, I think this article brings up some merit about how only a small percentage of female employee’s receive at least six months of maternity leave; however, the rest doesn’t seem that scandalous. The fact that the tenure clock stops while on leave makes sense because that time period is more of a trial period for the institution to make sure that the individual is right for the job. Therefore, why should the individual’s tenure clock keep ticking why that individual isn’t their? I agree that maternity leave should be given, but not that the tenure clock should keep ticking during that time. Finally, unless you have worked in a lab, you really don’t know how important an individual is towards a project. If tissue culture is involved and you take one Friday off, the cell cultures you are working with will likely die over the weekend if you leave them unattended. Weeks, months, or even years of research could be lost and you would have to start from scratch. When working in the research field you are expected to make sacrifices to further scientific knowledge and understanding. It’s an unkind truth but both Mother Nature and business don’t treat men and women equally.

Maybe I'm just optimistic, but I get the feeling that as a society, we are in the midst of a transition in the workplace around gender rights. Notably, the social and legal changes that have been promoted over the last few decades have put women over men in graduating with science degrees while baby boomers phase out of the workforce. We can look to EU countries, specifically Sweden, to see how specific changes in legal definition can create cultural paradigm shifts. This article that I brought up provides evidence that what is defined as "wo/men's work" is completely dependent on temporality and social constructions. By understanding our perspectives and privileges in society, people can work through democratic forums to change the framework we govern ourselves with to be the change we wish to see.

After reading the article, I don't see why a big fuss is being made. It is a simple fact that women have a physical obligation to be present at the birth of their child (obviously). This sometimes leads to having to take time off of work. Men don't necessarily have to do that because they have no physical obligation. The article goes on to say how lab research is like running your own business. It requires time and dedication. If you are studying a new drug on people, you can't take a day off because you might miss a breakthrough in research, and you can't have someone else cover for you because people perceive things in different ways. This is true for men, women, purple aliens, everyone. Is it not a simple fact that women have more of a physical obligation in bearing a family than a man? Men don't have to be there for the birth. I don't know much about tenure, but I agree with fahey063 who posed the question "why should the individual’s tenure clock keep ticking why that individual isn’t there?" It shouldn't. The simple fact is that if you aren't there to do your job, men or women, there will be consequences. Unfortunately, women just physically may get the short end of it. Raising a family comes with sacrifices for everyone. If you aren't ready to sacrifice anything for your children, you aren't ready to have them.