Mothers in academic pharmacy

Abstract

IntroductionThe proportion of women pharmacists has been rapidly increasing for many years, from 43.3% of licensed pharmacists in 2000 to 52.7% in 2014. Yet women may be less likely to consider certain positions in pharmacy due to concerns of balancing work and motherhood responsibilities. The terms “motherhood penalty” and “baby penalty” have been used to describe the consequences of child-bearing responsibilities on the careers of women, including academic pharmacy. Many workplaces have established interventions to address the motherhood and baby penalties, including policies such as extended child-bearing leave and better childcare options. Commentary and implicationsHowever, there is still much understanding and improvement needed from the pharmacy academy administration to elicit a true change in culture. How can we create this culture shift? This article emphasizes a call to action to address this need for change.