Mary Ann Mason cited in Inside Higher Ed, April 4, 2012

A study conducted by Mary Ann Mason of the University of California at Berkeley documented that of the 61 members of the Association of American Universities (the top elite research institutions), only 23 percent guaranteed a minimum of six weeks paid leave for postdocs and only 13 percent promised the same to graduate students.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 13, 2012 by Mary Ann Mason
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Next-Step-for-Female/130717/

A mass of bureaucratic and regulatory blockages must be pushed through in order to achieve a flexible workplace in which having both a family and a career is possible. A critical block is that while federal agencies largely finance the graduate students, postdocs, and faculty members who create new scientific breakthroughs, it is universities that determine personnel issues.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 14, 2011 by Robin Wilson
http://chronicle.com/article/Scholar-Who-Left-a-Tenured/128969/

Mary Ann Mason, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley’s School of Law who does similar research, said she didn’t believe the charges against Mr. Drago would stop him from doing work in the field. “He has been a very effective scholar and could continue to be so,” she said.

The New York Times, September 9, 2011 by Gerry Shih
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/us/09bccampaign.html

Mr. Ekmen and his wife, Mary Ann Mason, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, attributed the dynamic among the candidates to ranked-choice voting. “They were kind to each other,” Ms. Mason said after the debate. “It’s very hard to figure out the differences if you didn’t know them before.”

The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 9, 2011 by Mary Ann Mason
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Pyramid-Problem/126614/

Put simply: There are far fewer women than men at the top of the academic hierarchy; those women are paid somewhat less than men, and they are much less likely then men to have had children. At the bottom of the academic hierarchy—in the adjunct and part-time positions—there are far more women than men, and they are disproportionately women with children. Women in adjunct jobs have children at the same rate as men but receive the lowest wages in academe.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 13, 2011 by Rachel Newcomb
http://chronicle.com/article/Fieldwork-in-Morocco-With/126309/

Mary Ann Mason, a professor of law at the University of California at Berkeley, has found that women with children are less likely to get tenure than men. In the sciences, mothers are 27 percent less likely to receive tenure, and Mason’s 2002 study found that women who have babies within five years of receiving their Ph.D. in the humanities or social sciences are 20 percent less likely than men in a similar situation to receive tenure.

-The New York Times, January 5, 2011 by Steven Greenhouse
http://nyti.ms/eNm0Xg

Thanks in large part to such policies, Professor Mason said, 64 percent of assistant professors in the University of California system have children, up from 27 percent in 2003. “It shows that you can change the workplace culture,” she said.

-The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 12, 2011 by Mary Ann Mason
http://chronicle.com/article/How-to-Change-Workplace/125894/

At Berkeley we have tried to break the cycle of low participation and fatherhood avoidance with several initiatives that expand family-responsive policies…. Culture does not change easily, but there are early signs of improvement here.

Science Magazine, Careers, August 6, 2010 by Vijaysree Venkatraman
http://bit.ly/cXX5mU

It’s a peer-group problem, she says: “If some young fathers take that leave and demonstrate themselves as equal caregivers, others will as well.” Mason says she has seen this happen at her workplace. But as long as most men are resistant, others may feel that they can’t take the chance. Once women scientists sought role models in laboratories; perhaps it’s men who require role models now: male scientists who embrace domesticity.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 20, 2010 by Mary Ann Mason
http://chronicle.com/article/E-Mail-the-Third-Shift/66312/

Many academics have a love-hate relationship with e-mail. We know it has made communicating … far easier. But we are also aware that e-mail is devouring a great deal of our time.… Shouldn’t it be routine university policy to promote clear guidelines about the use of e-mail between faculty members and students? That would benefit not only parents, of course, but, particularly for mothers, limiting the third shift may make the difference between academic survival and burnout.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 17, 2010 by Mary Ann Mason
http://chronicle.com/article/Women-Tenurethe-Law/64646/

Since the 90s, a plaintiff has had to prove not only that the tenure judgment against her was untrue, but also that the real reason for the denial was sex discrimination. If discrimination can’t be proved, even if the department is found to be intentionally lying about substandard work, other reasons for the denial, such as a faculty member’s lack of collegiality, can be upheld.