Money magazine has a story about how to balance a relationship with both a spender and a saver. Buried in there is a tossaway half-sentence (emphasis mine):
A series of recent events have exacerbated the differences in their financial styles. In January, Michael was offered a job in Phoenix, prompting the couple to move there from Chicago with their daughter Ava, 19 months. But Michael's new position pays mostly on a commission basis, and Brittany's hunt for part-time work has been stymied by the news that she's expecting their second child in January.
And why has it been stymied? Has it anything to do with her (gasp!) pregnancy?
Mamas cant get a break. Especially on the job market.
I can't tell you how many female academics I know who have agonized over what to do on the job market while pregnant. The ones who were not visibly so were the most tortured. To tell, not to tell, to try to work out a deal. On the other hand, I am not sure they were in the worst position. They had to deal with it, and actually confront the issue by talking to their potential employers about how to manage the time off (if it was available). THe worst story I ever heard was from a colleague at an institution that didn't have maternity leave. And she couldn't take enough time off with medical leave to cover her pregnancy. So what did they make her do? The department made her take her pre-tenure research leave in order to get time off to have the baby. For those who aren't familiar with the idea, the leave is the chance to work like a dog to get publications necessary for tenure. Many of us don't get the chance to have such an opportunity in the first place, but those who have them have a better chance of turning them into quality publications. Making someone burn a research leave for medical/health reasons is ridiculous. And what are we whining for anyway? Like teachers, at least we can schedule around summer, where work time is flex time.
The thing that gets me about the Money article is the idea that the worst thing in the whole situation is how to manage the spender/saver dissonance. Not that the woman had to give up her work to travel halfway across the country for her husband's new job at a major reduction in salary. Not that he was making her be the "mommy," the responsible one. Not that she couldn't find a job because she was pregnant.
Posted by binky at August 27, 2006 07:51 PM | TrackBack | Posted to Gender and Politics