I'm in the thick of job search right now and just did one interview
and my approach is to be very up front about having a family and
including a photo of them in my 'about me' slide at the beginning of
my talk. I want everyone to know I have a wonderful family supporting
me and that makes me a better scientist and teacher not worse! My
philosophy is that a department that won't hire me because I have a
family is a place I don't want to be! I don't think starting a
position with my family a secret is a good place to begin -they are
not a liability and should never and will never be viewed as such.

Best,
Ryan

--- In scienceandfamilies@yahoogroups.com, "leah.beche"
<leah.beche@...> wrote:
>
> I feel compelled to join this group, as my labmates and I have been
> having these types of discussions for years!
>
> I, too, am interested in the response to this question, particularly
> for women candidates. While it is technically illegal for committe
> members to broach this subject, I find it hard to believe that they
> would not consider a person's family situation during a search (even
> if it is done silently by each individual), especially at a R-1
> university. That is not to say that you would be discriminated
> against, but I think that it is pretty difficult to say whether your
> family situation plays a role in hiring decisions.
>
> A practical question for you all...If you are not obviously
pregnant,
> but you have a family, do you stay 100% silent about it at an
> interview? Only bring it up if it appears that the
department/certain
> individuals might be amenable to it (i.e. untenured faculty with
young
> kids)? Or do you try to bring it up so that it isn't a big secret?
> That is, by addressing it, you verify that it is not a big deal that
> you have a family, you are dedicated to your profession, etc?
>
> cheers,
> Leah
>