Don't Blame the Kids

At Thus Spake Zuska, Suzanne Franks blogs that "motherhood is an issue for a woman who chooses to work and have children, in science or in any career. It is not, however, the issue for women in science." She then quotes the Nature review of Emily Monosson's Motherhood: The Elephant in the Laboratory as saying "more disturbing is the implication that in the absence of motherhood, women in academic science would have untroubled careers. This is naive. Evidence shows that female scientists without children do not fare better than those with children who remain full-time in the workforce." Franks concurs, saying that the problems women face in the sciences go beyond child-rearing and that the focus on children doesn't leave room for discussing other issues.