Teetering on the family-friendly edge: continued discrimination against mothers in academia.(IN HER OWN WORDS)

Can a woman have a family and a successful academic career? The jury is still out, despite "family friendly" having become the new academic buzzword.

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Recently, the venerable University of California launched "The UC Faculty Family Friendly Edge" initiative.

At first blush, the initiative appears to be a model for institutions serious about addressing the vexing conflict between the tenure clock and the biological clock--offering "stop-the-tenure-clock" leave, "active service modified duty" and central funding to cover associated costs.

But before junior faculty women hungering for a family as well as a career pack their bags and head for the Golden State, it would be prudent for them to ask whether UC "walks the walk" as well as it "talks the talk."

A cautionary tale

Consider the case of Professor Laurie Freeman, who recently received a rare "cause" determination from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) after filing a novel charge of sex discrimination against the University's Santa Barbara campus.