Does maternity affect women’s careers? Perceptions of working mothers in academia

Marta Gallardo

doi:10.5944/educxx1.26714

Authors

Marta Gallardo Universidad de Murcia http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4804-710X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5944/educxx1.26714

Keywords:

Academic career, academic promotion, gender, motherhood, work–family balance

Agencies:

We are thankful to the participants in this study who shared their personal stories and insights. We are also thankful for the support of the Equality Office at the University of Murcia

Abstract

Women in academia are underrepresented at the highest levels of the hierarchy. After gaining their PhDs, they seem to make little progress and their career paths appear to be hampered by their family responsibilities. Motherhood can affect scientific productivity and, therefore, promotion. Balancing teaching, research, administration, consultation, and other roles in academia with maternity can be hard. The study comprises an online-survey of mothers with children up to 5 years old, working in academia (n=80) in a Spanish university (University of Murcia), the aim being to ascertain their views regarding maternity and work. Common themes include a greater focus on teaching than on research, handicaps regarding mobility, and working from home. 63% perceived that their CVs are less competitive than those of their co-workers who are not mothers, which implies that their research productivity decreased. However, even with these difficulties, the results show that more than half are confident they will soon receive promotion. In order to reduce the existing glass ceiling, actions and policies that promote equal access and promotion to the scientific career, integrating working life and family care must be implemented.

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Author Biography

Marta Gallardo, Universidad de Murcia

Doctora en Geografía por la Universidad Complutense de Madrid e Investigadora postdoctoral en la Universidad de Murcia. Miembro del Centro de Estudios de las Mujeres y de Género (CEMUGE) de dicha universidad. Sus principales campos de investigación son los análisis de cambios de usos del suelo para un futuro territorial sostenible, la enseñanza de la Geografía mediante la utilización de medios audiovisuales, y más recientemente el análisis de las desigualdades de género dentro del ámbito universitario. E-mail: marta.gallardo@um.es

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