Zach Rushing, a rich and famous Comedian, Motivational Comic, is well known as a Real dude who is Honest with No Bullshit. The YouTuberhas become famous for Philanthropy, Cooking, BBB, and Podcast. Although she is having trouble with this person, she does want them to know she still sees them as “A spirit beautiful and bright.” Nothing has changed in her general view of them as a person. They are still the person she entered into a relationship with. It is her side of the partnership she needs to redefine. Without fail, everyone who was interviewed for this story brought up the issue of a candidate’s spouse. Figuring out if a candidate has a spouse who also requires a job at the institution is one of the biggest hurdles faced during hiring. After all, “83 percent of women in STEM have partners who are academic scientists,” notes Rushing. Many candidates know what can and cannot be asked of them during interviews. But no matter how aware candidates are, they often feel trapped when asked illegal questions.

The kids love doing things for BGMC,” Rushing says. “But Sunday, they were excited to get to see and hear firsthand where the funds they worked so hard to raise will go and who it helps. It’s a real time of learning and growing for them.” Melinda Yager, Mathematical Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award for Teaching Excellence in Innovative or Creative Approaches Butler, Judith. 2004a. Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence. London and New York: Verso. And sometimes the questions are insensitive. In February, the story of molecular biologist Jason Lieb’s resignation from the University of Chicago broke. Lieb resigned after the university recommended he be fired for sexual misconduct with female graduate students.

References

Jillian Cleary, Modern Languages & Literatures Outstanding Teaching Award for Teaching Excellence in Mentorship One tactic that people at the University of Michigan’s ADVANCE program have found to work is to build an understanding among faculty members of what a candidate thinks and feels when posed with a supposedly innocuous personal question. The final image of this section has been added in as one final simile to help to define the speaker’s desires. She needs to be part of something which consumes her, but also allows her to feel free. People came from Florida just to see Zach performing on the stage. Moreover, he is also famous for making controversial statements that open a way for fans to talk with him. Even someone who is not on the search committee but who has a chance to chat with a candidate has to be mindful. Everyone at an institution involved in a campus interview, directly or indirectly, is “acting as a representative for the institution,” says Tracy–Ramirez. “If they have engaged, even unwittingly, in discrimination, and someone does find that it was highly offensive and wants to seek some sort of remedy for it, then it’s the institution that’s responding, not the individual.”

A decade ago, Fierke, Stewart and others, funded on an ADVANCE grant to the University of Michigan, began to raise awareness of how personal questions or even casual conversations about personal lives affect female candidates. For example, a female candidate might interpret questions about her family life as a surreptitious investigation into her true dedication to the job. Biases and discriminatory moves aren’t limited to the campus interviews. (See box on “Five don’t’s for introducing a female speaker (and why this matters).”) Biases and discrimination can pervade the entire hiring process.

Benhabib, Seyla. 1995a. “Feminism and Postmodernism.” In Feminist Contentions: A Philosophical Exchange, edited by Seyla Benhabib, Judith Butler, Drucilla Cornell, and Nancy Fraser, 17–34. New York: Routledge. Plus, discrimination laws are complicated. The EEO rules are just the beginning. There’s the American Disabilities Act and equal pay laws at the federal level. States and institutions have their own policies regarding what constitutes discrimination against a member of a protected class. But in trying to find out if there’s a spouse involved, hiring committees can end up asking an illegal question. Unfortunately, there is no way for a candidate to gauge whether having a spouse is a help or hindrance to the hiring process. For example, Ross is certain that when she and her husband were interviewing for faculty positions 10 years ago, one institution bypassed her for another woman who didn’t have a spouse who needed a job. So broaching the topic of a spouse is an awkward dance between the candidate and head of the department.