Women's issues

[wilderbeast]

So I'm going to be visiting the school that's accepted me soon, which has me wondering: as a female student in the hard sciences, are there questions I should plan to ask that specifically cover women-related issues in graduate school?

For instance, I'm currently not married, but if I were to meet someone in the next year then it is plausible that I could have a child by the time I finish my PhD. Is it wise to ask now about things like taking maternity leave, even though I'm not planning on it? I don't want to them to get the idea that this is my plan, but I do want to be informed. For the women on this forum who are already in graduate school, are there things you wish you'd asked about before deciding on a school?

[baimeeker]

Just talked to a girl at one school who has two kids and was very well supported by the department there about leave. I think maybe the way to approach a question like this is to ask if any women in the program have done this in the past and how it turned out for them. If not, you should talk about hypotheticals.

[ejuliast]

As a mom of one (and if we have another, it'll be while I'm in grad school), I've been asking about health care, child care, and names of other students who have kids. (I've also been specifically mentioning that I have a child when visiting to see if that news goes over smoothly or not. So far no issues...) The last option is really the best in figuring out how faculty deal with pregnancy, maternity leave, breastfeeding support, and the like. You can check what the university's official policy is, though: some offer six weeks leave, some require that you withdraw for the semester, some have specific rules in place to make sure that you don't lose your funding if you put your studies on pause for a semester, etc. Some just work something out within the department, and though this is less than ideal (because nothing is in writing until you get to the point of needing to strike a deal), then you'll want to make sure that your advisers are on the same page as you are regarding leave time and such.

The best advice I received when starting my visits was from a friend of mine who said, "You're already in. So now ask whatever you need to ask." I was afraid to start down this path, and then I realized that it was not only within my rights but also essential that I figure out these details.

[ewurgler]

You can ask current graduate students about the "culture" of the department. You can "feel" if they will be supportive....like if they have a super intense timeline they want everyone to stick to, they may not be all that supportive. If one of their comments about the town the university is located in is "that it is a great place to raise kids," you sense they would be more supportive.

Ask grad students, find out if anyone did have kids while in school, and then email them to ask about it. If it is a possibility for you, I do not think it is silly at all to take it into consideration.

[Rose]

I agree with all these approaches, and think it's specifically a good idea to get a sense of the program from women who have had children or just navigated a relationship while in school.

Another thing to consider: The University of Chicago just adopted a policy that stops the "clock" on tenure preparation if you have a new child (I believe you can pause the "clock" for up to a year in this case). It might make for an interesting hypothetical to pose; you could also couch this in terms of the department's support for "personal" issues--maternity leave but also mourning or other life events--and then slowly get more specific about what you want to know as you gauge the support.

The other thing I might do in your position is to see if this school/university has a Women's Center or diversity center that specifically supports or addresses women's issues on campus. They might have website or brochure materials that would explain procedure and could also offer a glimpse at things the school considers to be internally worth addressing--either because it's been a problem in the past or because they are VERY supportive of people in this situation.