Fall 2005 in The Feminist Psychologist
Mother Discrimination in Psychology: Part 1
by Jill Kuhn
In the last column (Blame it On Mother), Dr. Misty Hook adeptly wrote about the ways psychology has blamed mothers for many of societies ills. Dovetailing off of her column, I want to explore the ways psychology discriminates (covertly and overtly) against psychologists who are mothers. Joan Williams (2000) has convincingly argued that before most women hit the “glass ceiling” they will hit the “maternal wall.” Similarly Mason and Goulden (2004) have found that “’married with children’ is the success formula for men” but for women there is a significant “baby gap.” (p. 11).
One would hope that our profession would understand the importance of treating women who are mothers with respect and dignity, and as valuable sources of knowledge about parenting and families, but in many places that does not seem to be the case. In fact, rampant overt and covert discrimination is occurring. So, what is it that women face day-to-day, as mothers, in graduate school, on internship, and as psychologists? What follows is a sampling of personal stories I have collected (and paraphrased)* over the last couple of years.
-When I told one of my internship supervisors that I was pregnant, she asked me, “Did you plan this pregnancy? If so, what could you have been thinking?”
-My boss attempted to get me to agree to attend a retreat scheduled two days after my due date. When I explained why this would not be a good idea, she replied, “Can’t you get a sitter?”
-My boss told me that professors who are mothers do not make tenure.
-When interviewing for graduate school I was directly asked "Are you planning on starting a family and if so when?"
-My boss was upset that “her” grant money was going to cover my maternity leave. She complained so much that the Human Resources office tried to violate Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) rules to limit my maternity leave. I stood up for myself and reminded them of the law and they backed down.
-I went into labor one day at work (almost two months before my due date). When I informed my boss that I needed to go immediately to see my doctor, I was told that my contractions were not far enough apart to warrant my leaving and that I should continue to work until more significant symptoms appeared. I left anyway.
-A student in one of the courses I was teaching wrote on an evaluation form, “Even though Dr. X is pregnant, she was organized and did an excellent job teaching this course.”
-When I told my boss that my infant was scheduled to have a surgical procedure, I was told that I needed to return to work that same day after lunch.
-When I told my boss I was pregnant he replied, “I can’t believe you are doing this to me.” I also had a variety of complications before my baby was born (including being on bed rest). My boss informed me that he was cutting my hours and that this was not discrimination because I would have been out for longer that the 3-month protected FMLA allowed. I needed the work, so suing was not really an option for me.
- I am quite accomplished as a graduate student, but after having children, several of my professors encouraged me to do what was so-called best for my family, which meant (to them) that I should leave school. My husband has similar accomplishments to me, yet his commitment to a graduate degree was never questioned. In fact, he has been repeatedly complimented for being so devoted to his family and his education.
-My boss sent me numerous e-mails during my maternity leave and would become very frustrated if I did not answer them right away. I was expected to work while on leave. The assumption was that “staying home” with a newborn was a vacation.
-My supervisor regularly asks me to start a new task at 5pm in the evening (that she wants finished that same day) as I am wrapping up my day. When I remind her that my baby’s daycare will be closing she lets me know that I need to find a better daycare situation so my flexibility at work will not suffer.
-A co-worker has repeatedly complained to our boss for allowing me a few minutes of “break” time each day so I could pump breast milk for my baby.
-My baby was born significantly pre-term. She spent over a month in the NICU. During this incredibly stressful time for our family, my boss pressured me to return to work. No attempt was made to understand how difficult it was for me having a baby in the hospital with no clear discharge date. I also felt guilty that my co-workers were left to cover my teaching and client load.
Summaries of similar experiences:
-Several women who had cut back on hours or changed jobs to better accommodate their families, often when their former workplace was unwilling to, were treated as if they have been demoted or somehow had lost prestige. They were often introduced, in professional situations, in a tone of voice that it made it abundantly clear that since having a baby they were no longer considered as valuable to the profession.
-A number of women gave extensive accounts of how their mentors, after years of support, withdrew it when they became pregnant (even when nothing about their performance changed).
-A few women reported being asked how many pregnancies they intended on having since maternity leave was a burden for their department or office.
- There is no maternity leave in graduate school, unless you are lucky enough to time your baby’s birth to occur over winter or summer break. Several women shared that they returned to classes 2-3 weeks postpartum.
Clearly all of these women have experienced some form of discrimination because of their status as mothers. Former APA President, Dr. Diane Halpern, argues that situations like these are clear civil rights violations. In my next column I will continue my exploration of mother discrimination and examine the realities and resources for women who face discrimination in our field.
*Special thanks to all the women who have shared their stories with me (including some from the fempsychmoms listserv and POWR-L).
Jill can be reached at kuhngale@earthlink.net
References
Halpern, D. (2004, November). Obstacles to female full professorship: Another civil rights issue. Monitor on Psychology, p. 5.
Mason, M.A. & Goulden, M. (2004). Do babies matter (Part II)? Closing the baby gap. Academe, 90(6), 11-15.
Williams, J. (2004). Hitting the maternal wall. Academe, 90(6), 16-20.