UC family-friendly policies promote equity

UCLA Today Staff

Having a baby early in one’s academic career — within five years after receiving a Ph.D. — can put a serious damper on a woman’s chances of receiving tenure, as well as on her salary. In contrast, men who have babies in the household early in their careers show no such gap, but, in fact, experience greater progress in their academic careers.

So discovered Mary Ann Mason, dean of the Graduate Division at UC Berkeley, in a review of data from the National Center for Education Statistics. Mason presented her findings to UCLA faculty and doctoral students April 18 at the invitation of Rosina Becerra, associate vice chancellor of faculty diversity.

Women who have at least one child in the household early in their career are 24% less likely in the sciences and 20% less likely in the social sciences and humanities to achieve tenure than men who become fathers early, according to Mason.

However, women who have babies later — more than five years after receiving their Ph.D. — and women without children demonstrate about the same rate of achieving tenure as men.

Becerra said the results don’t surprise her. “Frankly, this is what women in academia already know anecdotally,” she said. “That’s not to say that women with children aren’t able to advance academically, but juggling an academic career and family is something to be considered.”

Even if a woman attains tenure, Becerra said, “she may remain stuck in the associate professor rank. Often postponing having children until after tenure, one becomes stalled at rank because of the huge responsibilities of both work and family lives.”

While a salary gap between male and female academics has always existed, it has widened over the last three decades, according to Mason’s statistics. In 1997, tenured women faculty earned below $50,000 on average, while men earned closer to $60,000.

The issues addressed by this study “speak to the need to make campus leave policies much more broadly known,” Becerra said. A number of UC-wide “family-friendly” policies already exist, but many women aren’t aware of them or do not know that their participation is not at the discretion of the dean or department chair, said Becerra. Her office has established a new Web site, www.faculty.diversity.ucla.edu, to improve awareness of these policies, which include such benefits as childbearing leave for both male and female faculty members, as well as additional forms of leave related to family issues.

Becerra’s office also seeks to pursue new avenues, such as giving a woman with a baby an automatic right to “stop the clock” on the eight-year limit on tenure consideration unless she decides otherwise. Under such a policy, a period of leave, perhaps up to a year, would not be counted in the eight-year limit to tenure.

“This is very significant,” Becerra said. “Stopping the clock for this sort of leave should not be viewed as a negative, but rather as a right.”

Also under consideration is mentoring by women faculty of women graduate students and postdoctoral students.

“Women graduate students are choosing not to go into academia because it’s just too much,” said Becerra.

“Do you commit yourself to a career, or do you commit yourself to a family? They see it as a choice they have to make.

“In fact, women can do — and are doing — both. If we wish to enhance our excellence, we must create an environment where women will feel that an academic life can be enriching to them and still maintain a fulfilling family life.”