Spoiled September 25, 2012
Posted by mareserinitatis in feminism, science.Tags: dual career couples, employment, two-body problem
2 comments
I had a discussion the other day with someone about dual-career couples in academia. Specifically, I was talking about a couple that had been hired, only it had become apparent after some time that the lagging spouse was actually a better researcher than the leading spouse. At some point, the person I was talking to interjected to tell me that having to hire both members of a couple was essentially part of the whole entitlement mindset that is a problem in this country.
I was rather floored. I knew I’d seen comments like this online, but I was very surprised to hear it from someone in person. I was especially surprised that they seemed unaware of how this affects women disproportionately to men. They also seemed to be unaware that this was being used as a strategy at many places to attract better researchers.
But then, that doesn’t seem to matter. Diversity is apparently not a goal for everyone. I hate being in situations where I am reminded of this, but it sure explains a lot when people are willing to come out and be so blatant in their commentary.
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