The headline was stark. The article, which accompanied the headline, was just as bold.
And the reaction to it on Fairfield’s campus was swift.
“Many Women at Elite Colleges Set Career Path to Motherhood,” by Louise Story, an article which appeared in The New York Times in September, evoked a whirlwind of interest in Fairfield faculty and students.
Many faculty and students could not believe the generalizations made by female college students at Yale, who are looking to abandon post-college careers and an Ivy League degree for motherhood and marriage.
“My reaction to the article was dismay that again The New York Times decided to run a story that framed women as pursuing traditional roles as mothers and wives without also considering the other alternatives these women pursue,” said Dr. Jocelyn Boryczka, assistant professor of politics.
Boryczka was one of six speakers at a panel held on Nov. 8 which was set up by Lucy Katz, the chair of the management department.
The panel was created mainly to have an open discussion about the topics raised in the article.
For the first part of the panel, three women were asked by Katz to speak about their lives as independent, successful businesswomen. The successful businesswomen included: Sharon Budds, a mother and director of administration and assistant corporate secretary at Silgan Corporation; Lesley Apt, a mother and chief compliance officer and senior counsel at General Electric corporate financial services; and Helen Shaw, a ’95 Fairfield graduate who is an unmarried financial reporter who has dedicated her post-college years to travel and finding the right job for her.
All three women demonstrated, through stories about their own lives, how the article in The New York Times is not indicative of all women and how the sentiment of some of the females quoted may be shared by only a small percentage of college females who share similar upbringings and socioeconomic status.
Though the women agreed that it is difficult at times to have a demanding career and a family, they all said that there are ways to have both.
Apt is a prime example of having a successful occupation and a good family life.
“It worked perfectly well for me and my family with my husband staying home and me working,” said Apt.
Even though some colleagues made comments about it and people in a town she lived in deemed it unacceptable, it is what worked best for her family, she said.
In the second part of the panel, Robbin Crabtree, chair of the communication department, and Kathryn Nantz, associate professor of economics, spoke about women from the perspective of their fields of study.
Boryczka expressed her disappointment about the article.
“The article makes it seem as though all Yale women pursue this option of opting out of the workforce despite years of hard work for good degrees,” she said. “The article fails to address the complexity of being a woman in 2005 and continues to detract our attention from the real issues that two-parent working families face in
America today.”
Lauren Donaldson ’06 read the article and agreed with Boryczka’s reaction.
“I think it’s funny how these women are just assuming everything will work out, and that they will have a husband who will have enough money to support an entire family without the wife having to work,” said Donaldson.
When asked if she thinks Fairfield women share the same sentiment as the Yale women mentioned in the article, Donaldson replied, “I can’t say that there aren’t girls who feel that way. I have given thought of what I will do if I have children, but I think that most Fairfield girls are kind of going with the flow right now.”
Interviews with about a dozen Fairfield senior women supported Donaldson’s notion of “going with the flow.” The interviews also displayed a range of post-college plans for Fairfield girls.
“My goal right now is to get a good job and make use of my college education,” said Jaclyn Caputi ’06.
Caputi, a psychology major, is currently debating between entering graduate school for business and entering the workforce.
Caputi said that she does not have a plan for marriage or children right now, as starting her career is her main focus.
“Going to Fairfield definitely plays a role in how I view my future,” said Caputi. “When I see my peers going into New York City and doing internships, I want to get myself motivated to start my own career.”
For some students, however, having a career will not be an option until after graduate school.
Bridget Gallagher ’06, biology major, has just completed her MCATs and is looking to go to medical school.
“I have always wanted to pursue a medical degree, and I am going to try to do it regardless of the time it will take for me to complete that degree,” said Gallagher.
Gallagher did admit that being in school for such a lengthy period of time might affect when she has children, but like Caputi, she said, “I am not thinking about that right now.”
“If I have kids, I do think I will continue to work afterwards,” said Gallagher. “I might take some time off for a while, but I don’t think that I would give up my career all together.”
Wanting to have a dream career and wanting to have a family is something that many women on the brink of graduation are thinking about, especially here at Fairfield. The question is, do you have to choose or can you have both?
“I think you can have both,” said Kate D’Emic ’06. “My mom worked while I was growing up, and I don’t feel that I was ever deprived. If anything I feel like I am more independent because of it.”
Regardless of where life after graduation will take Fairfield women, Apt, Shaw and Budds offered universal advice to women on the brink of graduation: go with the flow and be happy with your choices.
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