Addressing the Gender Gap

Abstract

This article documents one approach to improving the professional support system for librarian-parents and especially librarian-mothers: developing a conference childcare program, which the authors undertook as a pilot program in partnership with the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) from 2016 to 2018. After a two-year trial and mixed attendance results, the childcare program was adopted as part of ARLIS/NA’s annual conference plan. The article provides recommendations on how to successfully implement a childcare program and offers evidence on how conference care enhances an organization’s ability to include and support caregivers during a critical period of need.