Submitted by: Amy Wagner
Attendees: 16
Facilitators: 6
Discussion format: 2 small groups self generated discussion with facilitators
BALANCE ISSUES
INSTITUTIONAL STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE BALANCE
RECOGNIZED INSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES
AVAILABLE SUPPORT SYSTEMS AT WORK
DESIREABLE SUPPORT SYSTEMS AT WORK
Group 2: Those Without Children Of Any Age
BALANCE ISSUES
q Family and personal life
o How do you fit having children while advancing career?
o How important is it to respect the biological clock
o How do you balance to career couples looking to have children?
q Health and fitness, including mental health
o How to get away from the 24/7 mentality—particularly when stereotyped as being able to work more since you don’t have children
o Importance of diversifying your interests and not being solely focused on work
o How do you manage to not get overwhelmed mentally/emotionally by all of the work-place expectations in place for career advancement
o How do you deal with and pay for infertility, a growing issue among females putting off having children
q Finance—debt
o Women, particularly in the health sciences, often incur a lot of debt with schooling that may influence career choices and perceived ability to afford (professionally and financially) beginning a family
q Career/tenure
o When is the best time to start on the tenure track?
o Are there willing and able mentors out there to help women professionally advance their careers, and is it culturally appropriate to seek out a mentor?
o Why is the tenure clock so fixed in some areas of the university, and is this detrimental to women who plan on having children?
o Are there unspoken biases with tenure voting that might affect a woman’s decision to delay having children until after tenure is achieved
PERSONAL STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE BALANCE
q Be Efficient with time management
q Delegate out chores such as cooking and housecleaning to hired help if possible
q Seek out personal/informal mentors
q Seek out appropriate loan repayment programs of interest
q Discuss family plans with SO well in advance and communicate potential issues and needs to effectively come up with strategies for good family work balance when having children.
q Cultivate other interests and friends outside of work
INSTITUTIONAL STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE BALANCE
q Academic Career Development in the Health Sciences concept expanded to other colleges and schools within the University
q Formal Mentorship programs for trainees and young faculty to provide perspectives and input on balancing life and on effective career development
q More flexible tenure program and expectations that may allow women and men to address work/family balance without jeopardizing chances for tenure.
o The up and out concept may not be appropriate for all faculty
o Six years to reach tenure may not be effective for all faculty and may need to be extended for rigorously for family issues
o Expanded infertility coverage with health care insurance
o Adoption assistance program for university
RECOGNIZED INSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES
q Potential gender bias in criteria and process for tenure
q Professional demands on evenings and weekends as standard
AVAILABLE SUPPORT SYSTEMS AT WORK
q Informal Mentors
q Workshops and programs such as these during work-time…safe forum to discuss issues
DESIREABLE SUPPORT SYSTEMS AT WORK
q More paid time off for new parents
q Written guidelines on coverage and make up work after maternity leave
q More onsite day care options for new parents
q Formal mentorship programs and career development programs throughout university
q Endorsed and Implemented Family-friendly value statement: message needs to come from top as role models
q Written HR Guidelines on respecting boundaries, eg. email expectations on personal time
q Organized topical support groups sponsored by university
q Expanded on-site childcare/currently not meeting needs
q More paid time off for new parents
q Written guidelines on coverage and make up work after maternity leave
q Academic Career Development in the Health Sciences concept expanded to other colleges and schools within the University
q Formal Mentorship programs for trainees and young faculty in all schools to provide perspectives and input on balancing life and on effective career development
q More flexible tenure program and expectations in some schools that may allow women and men to address work/family balance without jeopardizing chances for tenure.
q Expanded infertility coverage with health care insurance
q Adoption assistance program for university employees