‘My research agenda may never recover’: pandemic work-life demands and obstacles to career advancement for faculty mothers

Abstract

ABSTRACT Historically, university systems have maintained gender inequities that facilitate promotion and advancement for Caucasian men, while creating barriers to career advancement for women and marginalised groups. Significant obstacles have existed for faculty mothers who have attempted to fulfill responsibilities as both mother and worker, particularly amid the COVID-19 global pandemic. The purpose of this study is to explore how, during the health crisis, faculty mothers perceived their experiences to impact their research productivity. Based on demographic and open-ended questionnaire data from 134 study participants in the United States, the findings suggest that as supportive duties demanded participants’ prompt attention, research was pushed to the side, resulting in perceived threats to faculty mothers’ careers. Given the value many institutions place on publications in the hiring, tenure, and promotion process, decreased or stalled publications could result in career repercussions. Specifically, participants viewed losses in research productivity as hindering job mobility for adjuncts and instructors; creating barriers to tenure and promotion for tenure-track faculty; and stalling career advancement for tenured faculty.