The economy is showing in Central Pennsylvania where I live.  I chair a department in a medical school and it’s a great place to work – but the number of applications we received for an administrative assistant job was disproportionate – there were over fifty applications – virtually all of them women -- and more arrive every day.  So I’ve been interviewing many candidates and having to think up criteria to parse down the list.  Per policies governing the interview process I never ask about family unless the candidates bring it up themselves, but many do.

In making a hiring decision, I have to think as objectively as I can, but I know I have a bias towards hiring women who are mothers – raising kids now or who have raised them in the past.    When I make the final decision in our hiring process I will try to ignore this bias, but here’s why my bias exists -- and why I think mothers make such great employees.

They know how to work hard

They can multi-task

They know that it’s not all about them

They know how to tell demanding people that they will have to wait

They understand the concept of triage

They get that major change and improvement often happens in increments

They’ve done messy jobs -- so they will appreciate this one

They know the value of a little enthusiasm

They value efficient common sense over lore, opinion, and history

They’ve had to function even when tired, hungry, and irritable

They know that if the oxygen masks fall from the ceiling, they have to put theirs on first, and then on the person sitting next them

They appreciate when others help them out

They understand that some people have things to which they cling for no good reason, like a blanket or a bear – or a strange way of doing budgets, and if it isn’t hurting anyone else, we should just leave them alone until they can give it up on their own

They know how to be supportive when first efforts come up lacking

They appreciate the value of routine and structure

They get that whiny people may still have something valuable to contribute, even if they can’t contribute it at the moment

They understand moods and how they relate to snacks and sleep

They are accustomed to thinking of safety first

They know how to protect their people

They know that sometimes people need to fail to “get it”.

             And most important:

They can distinguish a real cry from a fake cry