Should I stay or should I go? The effects of precariousness on the gendered career aspirations of postdocs in Switzerland

Abstract

RésuméIn this article, we propose to discuss the assumption that men are more likely to undertake and succeed in an academic career because the requirements of professional success in this occupation are compatible with normative gender assumptions, particularly that of fullling a male breadwinner or main household earner role, implying reduced domestic and care commitments. Switzerland oers a particularly interesting case for this study, because of the combination of the specic structure of academic careers, the characteristics of the non-academic labour market and the dominant gender regime. We will show that, in this particular context, the aspirations of postdocs to remain in academic employment or to look for non-academic jobs are directly related to their position within the domestic division of labour and to their personal and family circumstances.However, this does not necessarily lead to a clear-cut divide between work-committed men, who "succeed" (and stay), and care-committed women who "fail" to make it up the academic career ladder (and leave). Our results suggest that the situation is more complex and requires a subtle distinction between dierent ideal-types of post-doctoral experiences that do not always cut neatly across gender lines.

New managerialism in the academy: Gender bias and precarity

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Academic Career, Mobility and the National Gender Regimes in Switzerland and Finland

“…In Switzerland, the dierences between men and women on these topics were more important. While Swiss men often declared that going abroad before having a tenured position was normal, Swiss women were more critical on this issue and those who experienced mobility were often pushed to a very dicult situation, especially if they were in partnership with educated Swiss men (Bataille et al, 2017). Similarly, there were dierences between Finland and Switzerland in terms of how the interviewees talked of family and work-life balance.…”

Academic Careers in Management: How do We Get to Where the Grass Is Greener?

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