Disqus - Latest Comments for feministchemists

Re: Postdoc Union Clashes with UC

feministchemists — Sat, 15 May 2010 21:29:26 -0000

Xi Ping,

We checked out the website you provided and found it to be a little confusing. The allegations of fraud are quite serious and you should certainly file a lawsuit against the UAW if that is happening. From what we understand, the fraudulent behavior alleged is that union reps had people sign something that committed them to joining the union but lied to them about that fact. Nothing you had on your website convinced us that this was the case and we have to wonder if it wasn't simply a problem of poor communication. A lot of postdocs are not native English speakers, and we do wonder whether the problem was simply one of poor communication and not outright fraud.

The fact that the union dues are $300 doesn't seem ridiculous. Unions need money to operate. We don't understand what you mean when you say that UC has to pay $300 per postdoc. The employer shouldn't be paying union dues. Only union members pay union dues.

Anyway, it sounds like you don't want to have anything to do with unionization. Unfortunately, that means that you will simply stand idly by and continue to get the substandard treatment that you are currently getting from the university. That is, and should be, your choice.

We don't see how, without unionization, conditions will ever be improved. If the current union leadership is corrupt, then we suggest you start a new union.

Re: Multiple Postdocs

feministchemists — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 23:41:59 -0000

It is true that, legally, a University can't discriminate against hiring a woman because she is pregnant. However, what we have seen is that most research advisors would not willingly hire a pregnant postdoc.

Also, a University cannot ethically let a woman expose herself to harmful chemicals in the lab while pregnant. At the University where one of us did our PhD work, several female graduate students became pregnant and spent the majority of their pregnancies out of the lab, writing reviews and whatnot. Some could spend limited time in the lab wearing full bunny suits, but even then their exposure to chemicals had to be very limited.

Maybe if a woman was in the field of theoretical chemistry, she would be fine. But if she is in organic or inorganic chemistry, she will have a very difficult time being in the lab. Our understanding from our industry contacts is that pregnant women are usually given desk assignments, away from the bench, during their pregnancies. Neither the company, nor the woman, wants to take that risk.

If any readers have observed different practices, please share them with us. We would like to know. We are speaking from our combined experiences and knowledge.

Re: Letter to the Editor of Science

feministchemists — Sun, 10 May 2009 13:31:43 -0000

We didn't say "the test was wrong," we said "the test was irrelevant." The variance on standardized test scores is irrelevant to achievement, according to the references we cited. What is the point of doing statistics on tests which have no relation to reality? (rhetorical question, you don't need to answer).

We can do statistical analyses on all kinds of irrelevant data sets and publish the trends that we see. That is easy to do. The hard part is finding the most relevant data set to analyze.

Re: Letter to the Editor of Science

feministchemists — Sun, 10 May 2009 13:27:22 -0000

Marilyn, I question if you are really who you say you are. Your IP address is identical to Raymond's IP address. Hmmm... I guess when you concocted this false identity to try to really show us up, you didn't think we feminist chemists were smart enough to know what IP addresses are! You are busted!

Don't come back. You don't meet the intelligence quota to comment here. I mean, really, what kind of idiot doesn't realize that when they post hateful anti-woman comments on a site using different names from the same IP address- that they won't get caught? Amateur.

Re: Aristotle’s Sexist Legacy

feministchemists — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 19:45:43 -0000

There are plenty of ideas that pervade modern thought, whose roots can be found in ancient, outdated philosophy. Often times, erroneous ideas, such as the specific brand of sexism that Aristotle peddled, survive for years and people lose track of where they came from. People will then think there is some validity to the erroneous thought because they have heard it said for so long. Therefore, it is highly valuable to trace such thoughts to their origins. By doing that, we can invalidate the thought and reveal that it is simply an error that has been repeated enough times that people think it is a fact.

You seem to think it is implausible that historical figures would leave ideological legacies which can still be seen in today's society? What about the historical figures of Jesus, Mohammad, and the Buddha? Despite the age of their philosophies, these figures continue to exert incredible influence on modern thought. Should we discount the powerful influence of religion too, just because it happened a long time ago?

Re: Glass Ceiling Persists in the Chemical Industry

feministchemists — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:47:23 -0000

Yes larry p, you make a good point and I have edited the piece to remove that quote. The idea that we need more science graduates doesn’t correlate at all with my observations of out-of-work Ph.D.s