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Babies Do Matter
Roberto Refinetti
To the Editor: I read with great interest the article "Do Babies Matter? The Effect of Family Formation on the Lifelong Careers of Academic Men and Women" in the November-December issue of Academe. The data presented by the authors clearly indicate that women who have babies early in their academic careers are less likely to attain tenure than men who have babies early in their careers.
Perhaps without realizing it, the authors also provide an explanation for the discrepancy when they indicate that married women with children during the early years of their careers are less committed to their profession, work significantly fewer hours per week in the laboratory, and present research findings at fewer national conferences than married men in the same situation. If this is so, then either there is no problem (that is, more women than men make a conscious decision to spend time with their babies at the expense of academic advancement) or the problem is one of bad judgment (that is, women are making wrong decisions and should be advised on how to discuss family issues with their husbands).
Surprisingly, however, the authors essentially suggest that we should accept the fact that women cannot handle an academic career as well as men can and that, therefore, the standards should be lowered for women (by providing them with "part-time tracks," discounting "résumé gaps," or facilitating the hiring of women spouses when men are hired for academic positions). As someone who grew up believing that men and women are equally capable of performing intellectual work, I find the authors' recommendation baffling. If the authors feel that women should care less about their babies and more about their careers, then they should direct their efforts at convincing graduate students (both women and men) that this change in life goals is a desirable one.
Roberto Refinetti
(Psychology)
University of South Carolina, Salkehatchie
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