Daycare expenses aren't the only factor proving troublesome for prospective parents. The lack of stability in Harvard¹s tenure system "absolutely" turns away women looking to start families, Goodman says.
Some administrative changes since 1991 have improved the situation for faculty parents.
The primary caregiver relief program gives a semester of full-time teaching relief or a year of half-time teaching relief. The Faculty will also extend teaching contracts for up to two years for junior faculty who must care for their children.
A new daycare center for faculty children has recently opened near the Botanic Gardens apartments near the Radcliffe Quad. FAS has tried to have the new center meet the needs of the faculty, including having the center run extended hours.
"It doesn't solve the problem,...but it is at least a move in the right direction," Doherty says.
She adds that the question of the University subsidizing daycare arises from time to time, and she hopes that steps will be taken in the future. Doherty is acutely aware of the burden of childcare - her third child just entered kindergarten.
--Garrett M. Graff and Robin M. Wasserman