About half of the undergraduate and roughly 40 percent of graduate degree recipients in science and engineering are women. As increasing numbers of these women pursue research careers in science, many who choose to have children discover the unique difficulties of balancing a professional life in these highly competitive (and often male-dominated) fields with the demands of motherhood. Although this issue directly affects the career advancement of women scientists, it is rarely discussed as a professional concern, leaving individuals to face the dilemma on their own. To address this obvious but unacknowledged crisis—the elephant in the laboratory, according to one scientist—Emily Monosson, an independent toxicologist, has brought together 34 women scientists from overlapping generations and several fields of research—including physics, chemistry, geography, paleontology, and ecology, among others—to share their experiences. From women who began their careers in the 1970s and brought their newborns to work, breastfeeding them under ponchos, to graduate students today, the authors of the candid essays written for this groundbreaking volume reveal a range of career choices: the authors work part-time and full-time; they opt out and then opt back in; they become entrepreneurs and job share; they teach high school and have achieved tenure. The personal stories that comprise Motherhood, the Elephant in the Laboratory not only show the many ways in which women can successfully combine motherhood and a career in science but also address and redefine what it means to be a successful scientist. These valuable narratives encourage institutions of higher education and scientific research to accommodate the needs of scientists who decide to have children.

Table of Contents:
IntroductionSection I. 1970sBalancing Family and Career Demands with 20/20 Hindsight by Aviva BrecherExtreme Motherhood: You Can't Get There from Here by Joan S. BaizerCareers versus Child Care in Academia by Deborah RossIdentities: Looking Back over Forty Years as a Social Scientist, Woman, and Mother by Marilyn Wilkey MerrittCosts and Rewards of Success in Academia, or Bouncing into the Rubber Ceiling by Marla S. McIntoshOne Set of Choices as a Mom and Scientist by Suzanne EpsteinSection II. 1980sThree Sides of the Balance by Anne DouglassThe Accidental Astronomer by Stefi BaumAt Home with Toxicology: A Career Evolves by Emily MonossonGeological Consulting and Kids: An Unpredictable Balancing Act? by Debra HannemanCareer Scientists and the Shared Academic Position by Carol B. de WetSection III. 1990sLess Pay, a Little Less Work by Heidi NewbergReflections of a Female Scientist with Outside Interests by Christine SeroogyPart-Time at a National Laboratory: A Split Life by Rebecca A. EfroymsonThe Eternal Quest for Balance: A Career in Five Acts, No Intermission by Theresa M. WizemannReflections on Motherhood and Science by Teresa Capone CookThe Benefits of Four-Dumbbell Support by Catherine O'RiordanExtraordinary Commitments of Time and Energy by Deborah HarrisFinding My Way Back to the Bench: An Unexpectedly Satisfying Destination by A. Pia AbolaMothering Primates by Devin ReeseFinding the Right Balance, Personal and Professional, as a Mother in Science by Gayle Barbin ZydlewskiWhat? I Don't Need a PhD to Potty-Train My Children? by Nanette J. PazdernikVariety, Challenge, and Flexibility: The Benefits of Straying from the Narrow Path by Marguerite ToscanoThe Balancing Act by Kim M. FowlerJuggling through Life's Transitions by Cal Baier-AndersonHaving It All, Just Not All at the Same Time by Andrea L. KalfoglouSection IV. 2000sExploring Less-Traveled Paths by Deborah DuffyStanding Up by Gina D. Wesley-HuntBecause of Our Mom, a True Rocket Scientist by Elizabeth Douglass and Katherine DouglassOn Being What You Love by Rachel ObbardParsimony Is What We Are Taught, Not What We Live by Sofia Katerina Refetoff ZahedRole Models: Out with the Old and In with the New by Marie RemikerPursuing Science and Motherhood by Kimberly D'AnnaConclusion Contributors