vfmcneill

I grew up middle class and went to public schools. I was the first person in my family to get a PhD. My parents value education really highly, especially my mother. She always said education is the one thing that no matter what happens in life, no one can take that from you. Smart lady.

Not everyone in the extended family was supportive. I got a lot of questions along the lines of why was I working so hard and not making money? When was I going to join the 'real world'? I think they all get it now.

Actually in many STEM areas, including chemical engineering, the gender balance is pretty even at the undergrad level (computer science is a big exception to this). Then the balance starts to become more and more uneven as you move to graduate school, and on to the faculty level. This phenomenon, known as the "leaky pipeline," is something that many are trying to understand. It is probably related in many cases to the timing of the demands of the tenure track and how they coincide with the period of life where a woman is likely to want to have/raise children. In other cases it's probably related to women feeling less encouraged, in subtle ways, to go on to advanced studies. It doesn't have anything to do with innate ability. Many of the smartest people I know are women, and I know a lot of smart people!

Yes. Yes, I can.

https://plus.google.com/107078527622689822888/posts/cNATZoyVgAw

https://plus.google.com/107078527622689822888/posts/LrMwbRPNvz6

https://plus.google.com/107078527622689822888/posts/gBTVND6BXEu

https://plus.google.com/107078527622689822888/posts/fBEU3jiEot3

I also saw many junior professors acting crazy stressed up until tenure time when I was a grad student. This is why I didn't decide for sure that I wanted to go the faculty route until I was a postdoc and had some more relatable young faculty role models with families.

I feel that the huge amount of autonomy and flexibility I have had as a professor has made work-life balance a little easier for me than for some of my peers in industry. The first several years it can be stressful and you have to be concious about making boundaries for yourself, but on a day to day timescale you're your own boss. Many universities also have awesome maternity/family leave policies.

Oh, sippy cup drama is REAL. Try it at home!