The part that bothers me is when this is framed as a women's rights issue.
When I interviewed for a job recently, the interviewing department asked whether I planned to have another kid in the next few years. It was a casual question, and not part of the official interview, but I knew that if I said yes, I would be kissing that job offer good-bye. When a male colleague interviewed for a similar position, the department was delighted that his wife was pregnant again and planning to quit her job to stay home with the kids.
We also talked about salary requirements. I said that I needed a job that would support my family. The (older) faculty man I was talking to said that it had never been the case that academic jobs would support a family. The longer we talked, the more I realized that he meant *women's* academic jobs couldn't support their families, but that it was natural for a man's job to do so. As it turns out, I took an offer which matched my salary requirements. The faculty man hired another man for a sum quite near the one I quoted (and was ridiculed for quoting).
no subject
Date: 2007-05-02 07:19 pm (UTC)When I interviewed for a job recently, the interviewing department asked whether I planned to have another kid in the next few years. It was a casual question, and not part of the official interview, but I knew that if I said yes, I would be kissing that job offer good-bye. When a male colleague interviewed for a similar position, the department was delighted that his wife was pregnant again and planning to quit her job to stay home with the kids.
We also talked about salary requirements. I said that I needed a job that would support my family. The (older) faculty man I was talking to said that it had never been the case that academic jobs would support a family. The longer we talked, the more I realized that he meant *women's* academic jobs couldn't support their families, but that it was natural for a man's job to do so. As it turns out, I took an offer which matched my salary requirements. The faculty man hired another man for a sum quite near the one I quoted (and was ridiculed for quoting).