Adds Weight To Findings On Science And Parenthood Judge's ruling against Vassar College supports studies showing that wives and mothers can also be productive scientists.

For a century, female researchers have been disputing the notion that marriage and motherhood are impediments to serious scientific work. Over the past several decades, sociological studies have emerged to bolster their position.

These studies have found that married women researchers publish just as much as--or more than--their unmarried counterparts, and that women with children likewise show no deficit when it comes to research productivity.

Now, a judge's decision in a discrimination case puts the strength of a legal ruling behind this assertion.

A recent court decision that Vassar College discriminated against a married female biology faculty member by not granting her tenure and paying her less than the men and one unmarried woman in her department is, according to observers of academic policies, a...

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