Women of distinction, as leaders and as mothers.

It's no secret that most female academics choose to postpone having children until after earning tenure. Although we've come a long way, many tenure committees believe it's still the baby or the book ... and the book is the only one of value. Of course it shouldn't be that way. We should value both choices and voices.

Dr. Kristi Siegel, an associate professor and co-chair of the English department at Mount Mary College WI, spoke about the value of academic women's roles, including that of mother, at the 2004 Women's Leadership Symposium, "Transforming Conflict: Women's Ways of Leading," held at Mount Mary College in March.

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A social misfit

The "careers" question can be a time bomb for women. At a social gathering of professionals, if a woman answers the question "What do you do?" with "mother," she quickly finds herself alone. "The person asking that question will beat a hasty retreat to someone who has a life," said Siegel. "Motherhood very often has no voice."

Women's roles have become more diverse, but women are valued for the type of work they do and being a mother has little or no value.

Sigmund Freud's contribution to psychology actually devalued women. "The power language belongs to the father in Freud's family romance," said Siegel. "Irrational babble is the mother's language."