Lack of childcare at Congress of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2013

[Louise Forsyth]

Dear colleagues in the Canadian Association for Theatre Research

Last year, at Congress 2012 in Waterloo, in contrast to previous years, no
child care was available to the children of attendees.  Currently, no
arrangements have been made to offer child care at Congress 2013.  The
decision to stop offering childcare limits the ability of graduate students
and faculty members to attend Congress, arguably the most prestigious
academic event in the social sciences and humanities in Canada, one which is
central to hiring, promotion and tenure. This is an equity issue that
particularly impacts women and young academics. It could have a particularly
negative impact on any initiatives CATR/ACRT wishes to take to encourage
cultural and demographic diversity in our program and our membership. Please
join the campaign to bring affordable child care back to Congress by signing
the petition below:

http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/canadian-federation-for-the-humanities
-and-social-sciences-offer-affordable-childcare-to-attendees-at-the-annual-c
ongress

Any attempt to curtail diversity and equity at our academic gatherings
concerns us all.

Best,

Louise Forsyth

Adaptation of a message received from Dr. Wendy Robbins and

Dr. Anna Guttman
Associate Professor
Department of English
Lakehead University