Too Much Stress Shrinks Our
Brains
Ansell, Rando, Tuitt, Guarnaccia,
Sinha, Biological Psychiatry, 2012
Mindfulness Stretches Them
Holzel, Carmody, Vangel, Congleton, Yeramsetti, Gard, Lazar, Psychiatry
Research: Neuroimaging, 2011
Unconscious Bias
No Automatic Bias
Male = Family
Female =
Source: Project Implicit
Male = Career
Female = Family
Should Preschool Moms Work?
Men
10.5 10.7 12.7
28.4 30.9 39.1
61.1 58.4 48.3
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1988 1994 2002
Full Time Part Time Stay Home
Should Preschool Moms Work?
Women
11 12.3 15.2
38.9 35.8
42.8
50.2 51.9
42
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1988 1994 2002
Full Time Part Time Stay Home
Mothers in the Workforce
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
1955 1965 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2004 2010
Under 18 School Age Under 6
The Maternal Wall
.96 $1.00 .93
$1.00
.76
$1.00
Unmarried Women
Unmarried Men Childless Women's Pay
Childless Men's Pay
Mother's Pay Father's Pay
Michelle J. Budig, U Mass Amherst
Who Gets Tenure?
Married Men with Children
70%
Married Men - No Children
15%
Single Men with Children
4% Single Men - No Children
11%
Men
Married Women with
Children 44%
Married Women - No
Children 19%
Single Women with Children
11%
Single Women - No Children
26%
Women
Mary Ann Mason, “Do Babies Matter?”
Media Gender Gap
22 20
36 27
78 80
64 73
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Subjects Experts Journalists Top Managers
Women Men
Gender Neutral Policies
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
% S
ch
ola
rly A
wa
rds W
on
by
Wo
me
n
ACS
AGU
AMS
ASA
MAA
SfN
SIAM
American Women in Science,
2014
U.S. Fertility
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
No High School or GED
High School or GED
Some College B.S. or higher
Men
Women
National Center for Health Statistics, 2012
Parent Time with Children
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
1965 1975 1985 1995 2000
Married Fathers Married Mothers Single Mohters
Finding Time for
Work, Love & Play
1. Pause. Disrupt the busyness
2. Be aware of the Pressure of cultural ideals. Uncover Make unconscious bias conscious.
3. Set your own Priorities. Create a Network of Support
4. Mind the Gap. Plan Do Review
5. Flip the To Do List. Joy First. Stuff later
6. Set Common Standards. Share the Load
7. Chunk your time. Work in Pulses. Take Breaks
8. More is not more. Find the Sweet Spot
9. Schedule PLAY. You do deserve it
10. Shorten your Time Horizon
Self-Efficacy: Jedi Mind Tricks
• Mastery Experiences. The more you do
some things well, the more you’ll build the
confidence to do other things well
• Role models and Mentors
• Positive Feedback. Listen to & believe it
• “Snap Out of It.” Interrupt negative & self-
defeating pattern of thought
Redefine Good Work • Culture trumps policy
• Leaders set culture
• Make Conscious unconscious bias
• Gender Neutral hiring, firing, promoting, reviewing
• Sponsors, Mentors & Role Models
• Control & Predict workflow
• Define Mission. Clarify Expectations.
• Metrics. How much is enough? When is it good enough? How do you know?
• Communicate
• Reward Performance, not hours and face time
• Flexibility for all
• Embrace the Power of the Pulse
• Invest in Authentic workers. Not ideal workers
• Rethink Career Trajectories
• Reimagine Gender Roles
• Recapture Leisure. Take Breaks. Unplug. Go on Vacation
Family Policy for the 21st century
• Bring back the 40 hour work week!
• Fair Pay
• Good part-time work with benefits
• Paid family leave, sick days, time off
• The “Father Quota:” promote solo leave for men
• Affordable, high quality child care
• Flexible work for all
• Redefine career success
• Tax & Social Security policies that support diverse family structures
• Factor “invisible labor” of caretaking into GDP
• Portable health care