Personal Gender Paradoxes: Gender, class and ethnic issues in intimate relationships

Professonal advancement may come at great personal cost for women. Women who are in intimate relationships prior to earning advanced degrees and/or advancing at work may find that their new accomplishments pose a challenge to their relationships. Breakups and divorces have been known to result when the power differential in a relationship changes. Women who are not in an intimate relationship may find that having an advanced degree intimidates or puts off potential partners. These issues may be compounded by issues of culture, race, class and sexual orientation. Little definitive work has been conducted in this area. This round-table seeks to open a discussion among professional women to discuss these issues. An open-discussion with semi-structured questions to facilitate discussion will be conducted.