Language Matters Supporting Women and Nursing Parents Elizabeth Wickes @elliewix wickes1@illinois.edu Data Curation Specialist, Research Data Service University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

My labels ¡  Personal ¡  human; white; female; wife; partner; new mom; ADD; shellfish allergy

¡  Professional ¡  librarian | not a librarian; coder; teacher; Python user group organizer

¡  Underrepresented ¡  female coder

¡ Overrepresented ¡  female librarian

Names ¡  These are REAL conference room names for a large tech

company based in San Francisco ¡  “Romance Chamber”, “The Break Up Room” & “Arrears”

¡  “Hi, can we meet at 2:00 in the romance chamber?”

Naming ¡ Words… ¡  …shape our understanding of the world

¡  …teach or reinforce certain realities and belief systems

¡  …give us comfort

¡  …or take comfort away

¡  Let’s talk about “accommodation” What does this word say? ¡  Implication that uncommon needs are “to be accommodated”

¡  Not necessarily a bad word, but how you react to these needs can say a lot.

Imagine: To use the bathroom… ¡  Must request access, through another person.

¡  Only during specific times, first come first serve

¡  Going to another building? That’s a different person you have to find.

¡  Carry your own storage and disposal system.

¡  And the reactions: ¡  “Have you tried not using the toilet during the day?” ¡  “Why not just relieve yourself outside in the grass?”

¡  Now rephrase these items in the context of pumping breast milk. ¡  “Why do you have to pump during the day?” ¡  “Why can’t you just use the bathroom?”

What is accommodation in the workplace? ¡  Employers employ humans.

¡  Humans have bodies.

¡ We have to do stuff with our bodies.

¡  Bodies have opinions about what we do with them.

¡  Every person’s body works differently. These differences are the only thing that is ‘normal’ about the human body.

¡ Why isn’t just being open for requests enough? ¡  Sometimes we aren’t incredibly comfortable with emailing strangers

about our body functions. ¡  Job candidates may also forgo physical or medical needs during an

all-day interview because they are scared of having a disability advertised

What is accommodation in the workplace? ¡  Toilets?

¡  Sinks?

¡ Water fountains?

¡  Elevators?

¡ Wheelchair ramps?

¡ Childcare?

¡  Sick leave?

ALA Annual or PyCon? Conference A

¡  No mention of pumping spaces for nursing people.

¡  Childcare statement: "reimburse the charges expended on childcare in the amount of $25 per day, per child to a maximum of $50 per day … This covers only childcare in the parent’s hotel room or other residence in the meeting city and does not include charges for children’s food and transportation or gratuities and transportation for the sitter."

Conference B ¡  "If you are a nursing/

pumping parent, please contact our coordinator to setup a private area and access to a fridge.”

¡  Professional certified childcare is subsidized and provided at a nearby official conference hotel, 8-5:30pm, $50 per day per child. Lunch & snacks included. Toys, activities, etc. are all provided.

What can we do? ¡  Listen & Believe ¡  When someone is reporting a concern or need

¡  Invite ¡  People to tell you what they need or speak up

¡  Provide contact info for requests (don’t make us guess)

¡ Critically consider your building and spaces

¡  Treat requests and accommodations as a normal activity in your wording choices

¡  Research ¡  The internet is full of articles on how to be supportive

Specifically for new parents ¡  Even easy babies are hard

¡  Parental leave isn’t a vacation ¡  Babies need caregiving from both parents

¡  Critically consider your policies ¡  Imagine explaining them to someone who doesn’t qualify without saying

“because this is the policy” ¡  Do your policies support common complications?

¡  ~10% of births are preterm ¡  Actually read the FMLA law before you disc

¡  Be supportive and flexible ¡  Babies are work and there’s only so much time in the day ¡  Offer flexible hours and extended part time options

¡  Actually support people who want the flexibility

Supporting nursing parents ¡  Have an actual pumping area ¡  Doesn’t need to be a spa, but please not a 4’x4’ box

¡  Minimum: reservable by pumper, lockable, private, electricity

¡  Bonus: mini-fridge, small sink, workstation, backup pumping area

¡  Super bonus: a hospital grade pump and/or extra chargers

¡  Support flexible break times ¡  Need at least 30 minutes between setup, pumping, and clean up

¡  Sometimes you need to pump more frequently or for longer

¡ Consider pumping needs for event spaces, schedules, etc. ¡  Have an opt-in mailing list for pumping people in the office