Best Practices for Normalizing Parents in the Academy: Higher- and Lower-Order Processes and Women and Parents’ Success

Abstract

Our research on bias in family formation is rooted in the extant literature of gender and academia but moves beyond discussion of the “leaky-pipeline” metaphor to explore less frequently addressed issues including pregnancy loss, illness, lactation, and challenges faced by academic parents who are the partners of those who have given birth. We explore the lower-order processes that inform the gap in professional achievement between men and women in political science specifically and in academia more broadly. In turn, these lower-order processes manifest as more observable higher-order outcomes such as the disparate rates of tenure and promotion. We conducted a 100-question survey from November 2017 through July 2019 involving more than 300 respondents. Through analysis of open-ended survey responses, we identified a common theme uniting faculty experiences at a range of universities: family formation and parenting can be isolating processes for academics, and there often is a gross lack of both formal and informal support within universities, which creates the potential for setbacks in both personal and professional life. We highlight the challenges confronting academic parents—especially women—and suggest potential avenues to a more inclusive and balanced approach to academia.

Challenges and Opportunities for Academic Parents During COVID-19

“…Literature on academic parents prior to COVID-19 focused mostly on academic mothers in the Anglo-Saxon countries, with few studies from other regions such as Germany (Bomert and Leinfellner, 2017 ), Iceland (Rafnsdóttir and Heijstra, 2013 ), and Asia (Lau, 2020 ). Child-bearing women academics are disproportionally represented throughout the literature, partially because there is evidence showing negative impacts on achieving tenure (Harris et al, 2019 ) related to having children; whereas men's careers are boosted by having children (Windsor and Crawford, 2020 ). Academic mothers are subject to career delays due to pregnancy, childbirth and nursing, and many university campuses are ill-equipped to accommodate the physical aspects of motherhood (Trussell, 2015 ; McCutcheon and Morrison, 2018 ; Mirick and Wladkowski, 2018 ).…”

“…As such, negative coping strategies are often employed to alleviate the stress and guilt including: smoking, drinking, and overeating (Poronsky et al, 2012 ; Wilton and Ross, 2017 ). On the flip side, academic parents often benefit from increased opportunities for flexible schedules, flexibility in terms of tasks they take on, and possible career paths (research-, teaching-, or admin-oriented career) (Bomert and Leinfellner, 2017 ; Wilton and Ross, 2017 ; Windsor and Crawford, 2020 ). Increased flexibility also comes with the potential for undefined or irregular work times, which make it increasingly difficult to define dedicated work and family time (Rafnsdóttir and Heijstra, 2013 ).…”

Leveling the Field: Gender Inequity in Academia During COVID-19

“…For example, researchers conducting fieldwork and/or "bench-based research" may confront more substantial research delays (Myers et al 2020). Moreover, the consequences likely will last well beyond the pandemic, further deepening existing gender disparities in academia-especially for female faculty with young children (Windsor and Crawford 2020). Given the likely amplification of present inequalities in academia, the effects on women's productivity and career advancement should be analyzed systematically and adequately addressed with gender-sensitive policies.…”

Retaining Women Faculty: The Problem of Invisible Labor

“…These connections will reduce the need for faculty to engage in the types of invisible labor that they may not be comfortable with or trained to provide. Furthermore, to reduce the exploitation of women via compounded invisible-labor responsibilities, universities must ensure that policies designed to protect mothers' careers are communicated transparently as well as consistently and equitably applied rather than ignored or bargained for (Windsor and Crawford 2020).…”