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Re: Where Have All the Boys Gone?



Hello again from a lurker...

I have watched with interest the growing discussion as to where the boys
have gone. I am female, and a tenured associate prof at a two year-liberal
arts school. I find at the two-year level more of my colleagues are female
than male, though I haven't really counted. (This is something that I think
I have noticed looking back at things.) All of the faculty in the physics
department at the research university where I am pursuing (very slowly) a
PhD are male. They have tried to hire female on several occasions. All of
these candidates have taken other (presumably better) jobs.

Over the years I have noticed the following...

When I declared my physics major, I doubled the size of the department. (I
had actually gone there to major in something else). When my fellow major
looked at certifying to teach, he was talked out of it (wasting his
potential). When I looked at it, the only person who ever said this was a
bad idea and I was wasting my talent was my high school physics teacher
(Thanks Mr. Galenian!). The department I was in actually began to unearth a
course that hadn't been taught in 15 years just so I could certify. (And
yes, my parents encouraged me to certify so that when I got married, I could
"follow my husband".)

I got into grad school rather barely. I had only recently done any
research-- in another department-- and had never attended a conference or
worked on a paper. (This has all changed in that department, by the way.
It is now a very nice and modern department!) There were 7 of us in the new
class--two female and five male. I started my program intending to get a
PhD straight out. I switched to getting a Masters when my son was about 6
months old. Again, there were no arguments given. No one tried to talk me
out of it in the least (not even a "gosh are you sure?") I consider myself
lucky to get the temporary faculty job I got.

For the position I am in now (been here 10 years), I was told off the record
(much later) that I was the number one choice of the committee. I was also
told that the committee was told that if there were two minority candidates
recommended, then there would be two positions. If there were not, then
there would be only one position. Two new faculty were hired. A black male
and a hispanic male. No, I was not considered a minority as a female
because I am white. (Like I said before, most of my colleagues are female.)
One of the candidates walked on the contract, and I was hired at the last
minute as a replacement.

In general, women in academia--particularly at research institutions--have a
very hard time. They are seen to be less willing to sacrifice family time
for their careers. And, sometimes, they are less so. If there is a family,
more often the female of the marriage is expected to stay home when the kids
are too sick to go to school. Mom is less likely to take a month to go to a
major research facility or a week to go to a conference than is dad. At
least is what the powers that be tend to think. (That is what I see among
my department members now.)

I have been very fortunate in that I am married to a wonderful man who
studied early childhood education and is now a preschool teacher at a half
day program so that our son doesn't go to daycare at all (and never has.
He's 11 now.) My career has come before his. I have gone to do research at
Kitt Peak (and look forward to my next opportunity to go!) My career has
come first in my family. My son has claimed to want to be a physics
professor as often as he has wanted to be a preschool teacher. I've
encouraged him toward both of these goals. (As for Lisa's statement of boys
being lazier than girls, so far that has held true with my son. If I could
only get him to turn in his homework. You'd think he would get tired of
being grounded from electronics! And yes, Lisa, there are parents who
care!)

I have served on and/or chaired about a half dozen search committees in my
ten years. I try very hard not to look at gender or race or age or etc. I
would love to be able to interview and recommend for hire the MOST qualified
PERSON as opposed to the most qualified ______. (You fill in the blank with
your special category of choice.) Sometimes, I am allowed to proceed
unhindered. Sometimes, I have been questioned about why we didn't interview
this person or that person. I always come back with because they weren't as
qualified as this person. This doesn't always go over very well. I have
threatened to quit over search committee problems. Until search committees
are run by faculty willing to stand up for what is right (which can be hard
to do if you aren't tenured or if they are run by someone who doesn't think
that people who are ____ are as qualified for this job.), discrimination of
all kinds will occur.

I earnestly hope that when my son is done with college and/or grad school,
that he finds that the hiring environment has become one where people are
hired solely on the basis of their merit, not for race, gender, belief, etc.
But we have a long way to go.

Mariam
(I really hadn't intended for this to be a long rant!)
***********************************************************************
Mariam Dittmann
Chair, Lawrenceville Math & Science
Georgia Perimeter College

(770) 995 6957
email: mdittman@gpc.peachnet.edu
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