The disappearing research agendas of mother‐scholars in academia during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Autoethnographic studies

Lekchiri, Siham; Chuang, Szufang; Crowder, Cindy L.; Eversole, Barbara A. W.

doi:10.1002/nha3.20357

Cited by 4 publications

References 28 publications

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Generative AI and the Automating of Academia

Watermeyer,

Phipps,

Lanclos

et al. 2023

Postdigit Sci Educ

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The neoliberal transformation of higher education in the UK and an intertwined focus on the productive efficiency and prestige value of universities has led to an epidemic of overwork and precarity among academics. Many are found to be struggling with lofty performance expectations and an insistence that all dimensions of their work consistently achieve positional gains despite ferocious competition and the omnipresent threat of failure. Working under the current audit culture present across education, academics are thus found to overwork or commit to accelerated labour as pre-emptive compensation for the habitual inclemency of peer-review and vagaries of student evaluation, in accommodating the copiousness of ‘invisible’ tasks, and in eluding the myriad crevasses of their precarious labour. The proliferation of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools and more specifically, large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, offers potential relief for academics and a means to offset intensive demands and discover more of a work-based equilibrium. Through a recent survey of n = 284 UK academics and their use of GAI, we discover, however, that the digitalisation of higher education through GAI tools no more alleviates than extends the dysfunctions of neoliberal logic and deepens academia’s malaise. Notwithstanding, we argue that the proliferating use of GAI tools by academics may be harnessed as a source of positive disruption to the industrialisation of their labour and catalyst of (re)engagement with scholarly craftsmanship.

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Generative AI and the Automating of Academia

Watermeyer,

Phipps,

Lanclos

et al. 2023

Postdigit Sci Educ

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The experience of women researchers during the Covid-19 pandemic: a scoping review

Inguaggiato,

Pallise Perello,

Verdonk

et al. 2024

Research Ethics

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Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic globally disrupted lives and contributed to the exacerbation of pre-existing inequalities. Women in research were also affected. The prominent role that women played in professional and personal care duties had a detrimental effect on their research outputs, potentially hindering their career progression. Moreover, the challenges faced by women academics during the pandemic, including job loss, increased mental health issues, and the intersection of gender with other socio-demographic traits exacerbated existing gender disparities within academia. By systematically scoping the qualitative literature on the experiences of women researchers during the pandemic, this study sought to explore how women experienced and reacted to the challenges generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative meta synthesis of the included studies revealed three themes: gendered professional expectations, colliding identities and coping strategies. These themes show how gendered roles such as teaching and professional care work, associated with the hierarchical and gendered division of tasks both at home and in the workplace, made women feel unsupported and alienated as relevant agents in the academic context. The study reveals the importance of pastoral care, teaching and service work as the essential backbone of the academic infrastructure, especially in times of crises. It also exposes how productivity-focused researcher assessment criteria, rewarding mainly individual results and unrewarding of care and service work, can be viewed as perpetuating structural inequalities based on gender, parenting situations, contractual situations and background. In conclusion, this study exposes the need to proactively address the gendered practices and implicit biases which reproduce inequalities within academia and highlights how paying attention to the experiences and needs of women researchers is essential for improving the resilience and crises preparedness of academic the system.

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The Trials and Triumphs of a Solo Mother-Academic

Squires

2023

Stabilizing and Empowering Women in Higher Education

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It is well documented in the literature that mothers in academia often work a “second shift,” performing a majority of the uncompensated labor at home in addition to the compensated labor in the workforce. Further, this second shift is compounded by a “child tax,” where mothers are penalized by the academy for caregiving responsibilities. Yet, much of the existing literature on gender disparity among faculty in higher education pertains to two-parent, heterogenous family structures. This results in a significant void and underrepresentation of other groups. The focus of this chapter is “solo parents,” specifically solo-mother-academics. A solo parent is one who has no co-parent with whom to share caregiving responsibilities. In this chapter, the author presents a literature review, highlights of the author's experiences as a solo-mother in the academy, and ways to navigate both worlds. This work is influenced by qualitative research methods.

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The disappearing research agendas of mother‐scholars in academia during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Autoethnographic studies

Cited by 4 publications

References 28 publications

Generative AI and the Automating of Academia

Generative AI and the Automating of Academia

The experience of women researchers during the Covid-19 pandemic: a scoping review

The Trials and Triumphs of a Solo Mother-Academic

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