Motherhood and the Mission: What Catholic Law Schools Could Learn From Harvard About Women

The author discusses the evidence that suggests that, at least in the United States, it is motherhood rather than gender that presents the largest barrier to participation in the public sphere. She goes on to explore Catholic teachings on the need for social revaluation of the crucial work of preserving families, a function that has traditionally and persistently been performed by women.The author then discusses the growing acknowledgment in the academic world over the past few decades that the persistent under-representation of women in academia is largely due to incompatibility of motherhood with certain aspects of the traditional academic career path. I will also examine the accelerating calls for reform of the academic workplace to address this problem. I will conclude with an analysis of why Catholic law schools should be particularly open to adopting such proposals for reform.

Print Location Elizabeth R. Schilitz, Motherhood and the Mission: What Catholic Law Schools Could Learn From Harvard About Women, 56 Cath. U.L. Rev. 405 (2007).

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