By Linda Wang
At the Women Chemists Committee (WCC) luncheon on Tuesday, I met Jola Macszalek, a graduate student in chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Southern Mississippi. Jola brought up a question that couldn’t be more relevant to some women chemists: Why isn’t day care available at ACS national meetings?
Jola has an 11-month-old daughter whom she had wanted to bring to San Francisco, but because ACS doesn’t offer day care, Jola had to leave her baby at home. She told me she didn’t understand why such a simple service was not offered.
I sought to find an answer for her. After the luncheon, I spoke with Amber Hinkle, chair of WCC, and posed the question to her. Amber told me that it boils down to a liability issue. She offered, however, that all the convention hotels provide lists of reputable day care centers in the area. I’m not sure whether Jola will be satisfied with that answer, but Amber did say that if there is enough interest in the issue, the committee might consider revisiting the topic.
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