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Mommies Know Best: Pregnancy, Graduate School, & Beyond

Alexandra Holloway Caitlin Sadowski

University of California, Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, CA 95064

{fire, supertri}@soe.ucsc.edu

Laurian Vega

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, Virginia 24060

laurian@vt.edu

Abstract

The Grace Hopper conference celebrates all women in

computer science. However, the many women who at-

tend this conference fill more roles that just the role of a

computer scientist. They are also mothers, grandmothers,

sisters, wives, and daughters. In this panel-based BoF ses-

sion we discuss the important role of motherhood in par-

ticular reference to its impact on young computer science

academics and beyond.

1 IntroductionIn order to achieve true gender equality within the work-

force of STEM fields, particularly in academia, we need

to also have mother equality. Motherhood is a crosscut-

ting concern for women spanning economic, religious,

and cultural groups. A known problem is the mother-

hood penalty [1]: mothers are presented with fewer pro-

fessional development opportunities, have weaker social

networks, are rated as less competent, and face increasing

demands for work-life balance. Within particular demo-

graphics the pay gap between mothers and non-mothers is

larger than the pay gap between women and men [2]. Neg-

ative stereotypes about working mothers, but not aboutworking fathers, make it particularly challenging to pur-

sue both motherhood and a career.

These challenges are particularly disparaging due to

their inequity; children provide a benefit for men and a

penalty for women. For example, men with young babies

are 38% more likely than women with young babies to

achieve tenure [4]. Perhaps a partial reason for this is dif-

ferences is the social expectations about who will care for

children. In a survey of more than 400 faculty in the Uni-

versity of California system, it was found that women with

children spend almost twice as many hours per week act-

ing as caregivers than men [4]. Despite this, a 2004 survey

of German postdocs found that there was not a difference

in scientific productivity between scientist mothers and fe-

male scientist non-mothers [3].

2 Format

One aim of this session is for the decision to both have

children and pursue a career in computing, particularly in

the overworked areas of academia and research labs, to

not be an isolating experience. This session will be orga-

nized around a discussion session with the audience; we

would like audience members to share their own stories

and experiences.

This hour-long session will begin with a brief overview

of research touching on motherhood and careers in sci-

ence, particularly focused on academia, as outlined in this

proposal. We will then transition to the panel-led discus-

sion. In previous years, the audience contained a good mix

of women who had children and women who were con-

sidering having children. Questions will be addressed to

panel members, and then to the audience; audience mem-

bers may also ask questions. Starter questions to fosterdiscussion include: (1) What are maternity benefits to ex-

pect and fight for? (2) Is graduate school or early career

a better time to have a child? (3) What are some strate-

gies for handling childcare? (4) How can career goals and

research focuses change after having a child? (5) What

advice do you have for women considering pregnancy in

graduate school?

3 People

We have a diverse group of people sharing their recent

experiences. Panel organizers include Caitlin Sadowski

(Moderator) and Alexandra Holloway: two Ph.D. studentsfrom the University of California at Santa Cruz, and Lau-

rian Vega, a Ph.D. Candidate from the University of Vir-

ginia. The panel also includes Susan Sim, an Assistant

Professor in the Department of Informatics at University

of California at Irvine, Ann-Marie Horcher, a Ph.D stu-

dent in Information Systems Security at Nova Southeast-

ern University, and Melissa C. Smith, an Assistant Profes-

sor at Clemson University.

References

[1] S. Correll, S. Benard, and I. Paik. Getting a Job: IsThere a Motherhood Penalty? American Journal of

Sociology, 112(5):12971338, 2007.

[2] A. Crittenden. The price of motherhood: Why themost important job in the world is still the least val-ued. Metropolitan Books, 2001.

[3] V. Gewin. Baby blues. Nature, 433:780781, 2005.

[4] M. Mason and M. Goulden. Marriage and baby blues:Redefining gender equity in the academy. The Annalsof the American Academy of Political and Social Sci-ence, 596(1):86, 2004.