NCARB unfairly penalizes mothers who are taking AREs
Wondering if there are other women on here who are taking exams while also growing their families. I have never been on the NCARB community before, so not sure how active people are here..
4 years ago I lost 3 exams that I had previously passed due to the 5 year rolling clock. I had 5 passed exams and failed one; so I lost 3 exams! NCARB only extends the rolling clock by 6 months for women who just had babies. Anyone who has had a child knows that 6 months is nothing. In addition, to get an accommodation to be able to pump during a break you need to jump through so many hoops and to add insult to injury you have to call breastfeeding a medical condition. 4 years ago I was in so much pain during the exam that I could not concentrate and failed and then ended up with a clogged duct, mastitis and a terribly reduced supply. Now, after having had a second baby I am back to a place where I could be loosing my other 2 passed exams.
It feels extremely disappointing and it feels as though women are unjustly penalized and not supported and then we wonder why women leave the profession after having babies.
SUPPORT MOTHERS!!!! KEEP WOMEN IN THE PROFESSION.
-
There is (and probably always will be) ongoing debate within our profession about how well (or even whether) the licensing requirements (including the exams) succeed in achieving their stated (very noble) purpose of protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public.
But short of resolving all of that, is it not possible to find some consensus about some of the more practical aspects of the licensure process itself?
Surely we can agree that requiring nursing mothers to provide three forms of documentation to express breastmilk during an exam is unnecessary and excessive. Surely one form of documentation is sufficient. As for the rolling clock…maybe we tackle that one another day:)
I sincerely doubt NCARB is intentionally singling out mothers, but having to jump through bureaucratic hoops when it relates to intimate bodily functions really does feel humiliating.
-
Hello Christine,
I could not agree more with you it feels humiliating to have to jump through bureaucratic hoops for such a simple, natural and intimate bodily function. Expressing breastmilk is a right and need not be qualified as disability or require all types of documentation by medical professionals to prove the need to express milk during very lengthy exams.
There is current precedent within NCARB that in order to get an accommodation for additional time to take the exams for test takers for whom english is their second language all that is required is an affidavit that is filled out by the test taker, no further documentation or proof is required. The same should be true for a breastfeeding or expressing breast milk accommodation during an exam.
-
Well, this is now behind us. The rolling clock will be retired at the end of April. But if your state still holds to a clock be mindful of that. Best of luck on your exams!
I’m grateful for the change for all of you who have hardships you are up against, but most especially those who are pregnant, have newborns, and or suffering the effects of PPD.
My clock expires April 17th and I will still charge forward to pass by that time.
-
Hi Barry and Elsiana,
We want to clarify the above comments regarding "credit" for an expired exam. This is credit for the exam pass (which previously expired) and not a reimbursement credit for the cost. As an example, if you have an expired CDS 4.0 exam pass from 2013, your expired exam pass will be reinstated on May 1st. You will not be reimbursed the exam fee for the CDS administration.
Hopefully, this makes sense!
-
Hi Toshea,
Check out the "How Jurisdiction Requirements Impact the New Policy" section of this post - https://are5community.ncarb.org/hc/en-us/articles/12639762880791-NCARB-Is-Retiring-the-Rolling-Clock-Policy.
-
This is great news! Thank You NCARB. It is monumental.
to others and @ Elsiana, You cant give up on your fight because this is how they win. I have been boiling and been wanting to vent after reading some comments here.
I strongly support women and specially expecting and new mothers. I have been stay at home dad for many years and started taking my exams while my second child was 4 (2014) while working from home, being a care taker. Lucky for us our kids were born healthy (less work) but my wife had complicated birthing. Parents Equation = -work less, -earn less, -sleep less, +spend more, +juggle more, +stress more, +clean more. What takes them 1 hour takes a me 4 hours to complete. Parents have to cook healthy everyday so their kids grow up eating right. Schools are only 180 days so what do you do with kids the rest of the time? What if they wake up sick, your entire day is messed up. Caretakers in NYC are 2-3K/mo./per child and does not include all the days. In other cultures parents or grandparents are in the house or next door to take care of your kids and your life continues. If it was not for my wife (FT job outside) I would never have gotten my license. She supported me financially and took over the evenings and weekends with children when needed, I missed most of my sons and daughters weekend activity. Every vacation I took my study materials with me, it was the best time to study. I had passed 6/7 in 4.0 when my rolling clock was expiring (2018). The transition required me to take PPD and PDD which included all the exams I had already passed. THANK YOU - COVID which offered extensions twice so I was able to pass both of them by rigorous studying for 15-20 hours/wk after many repeats I made just in time before the rolling clock would expire my old exams. I was depressed and later fought anxiety for a year. (Thanks to all the forums, group studies and specially my PHD scholars friends who would read my study material to only confirm they are badly written)
Denmark offers 1 year maternity leave and 3 months to fathers. Our society is not the same here. We need to go 50/50 on this topic so no one side feels threatened. Currently the percentage of Male Architects is above 77 and Female is 23 so that says a lot already, and don't get me started on demographics.
Just so glad NCARB is making changes for the better. Overall they have been easy while calling and helping understand options.
-
Suchitra-
Congratulations on becoming licensed! What a feat especially when faced with all the difficulties of juggling family life, taking care for young children and all the emotional and time barriers that you mention in your post. I am sorry for all the struggles you have been through.
Thank you for opening up and sharing your story with us. I am sitting with you. You are a wonderful human being and a wonderful dad. You have done hard things.
Every thing you bring up in your post, I feel to my core every day. I agree that I am thrilled that NCARB is making changes for the better. We still have a long way to go. Our profession and our country need to do more. Mothers and new parents in general are not okay. This is truly the first time that the village has disappeared and the pressures to do so much more as parents than any previous generations are mounting. We need to have changes around the culture and also changes in policies.
-
Thanks Elsiana, I do agree. Do stay in touch with Mentorship for Women in Architecture, A.P. is my friend and also on the Board of NY State, maybe not your jurisdiction. Thanks for fighting, and of course you can google me, I am all over with publications etc. I have to say after the license and now that the kids are 13 and 16 I have more time than ever, doing 3-4 projects in my practice, in addition to starting a job soon and Wife starting her MBA education.
-
Congratulations to you Suchitra!! How wonderful and so glad that you are on the other side and things are settled down. Good luck to your wife with her MBA and to you with your new job. There's nothing in the world like a strong partnership to get a person through the tough times.
Yes, I would love to connect and I will be sure to stay in touch with Women in Architecture. We'll be visiting NYC in May and I may try to connect then.
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
49 comments