The Relationship between Family Responsibilities and Employment Status among College and University Faculty

Abstract

Although the participation of mothers in the labor force is viewed more favorably now than in the past, a substantial proportion of American workers continue to believe that women should focus their efforts on the home (Bond, Galinsky, & Swanberg, 1997). For example, surveys by the Families and Work Institute revealed that 41% of employees nationwide agreed in 1997 that men should be the breadwinner and women should care for the home and children, down from 64% in 1977 (Bond, Galinsky, & Swanberg, 1997). Research suggests that college and university faculty also perceive tension between work and family roles (Cole & Zuckerman, 1987; Finkel, Olswang, & She, 1994; Marshall & Jones, 1990; Sorcinelli & Near, 1989). For instance, from their exploratory study of 12 women and minorities who had made choices about entering academia, Bronstein., Rothblum, and Solomon (1993) concluded that the concentration of women in nontenure-track and part-time positions was due, in part, to the conflict between career and family demands. Through interviews,, Cole and Zuckerman (1987) found that even the youngest women scientists in their sample, women who had received their doctorates during the 1970s, encountered individuals who viewed marriage and motherhood to be incompatible with a scientific career. Although Marshall and Jones (1990) found that the timing of childbearing was unrelated to salaries and academic rank among female higher education deans, administrators, and counselors, they also found that about two-thirds of the ir sample believed that childbearing had negatively affected their careers, particularly in terms of their professional advancement and mobility. A survey of tenured and tenure-track faculty at one university showed that the majority (70%) believed that taking leave after the birth of a child would be detrimental to their careers (Finkel et al., 1994). The lower representation of married women than single women, and women with children than childless women, among the nation's college and university faculty may also suggest the difficulties associated with fulfilling both family and career responsibilities. Analyses of the 1993 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF:93) reveal that women represent a smaller share of married than never married faculty (34% versus 52%) and a smaller share of faculty with children than childless faculty (31% versus 54%). Some research (e.g., Cooney & Uhlenberg, 1989) suggests that these patterns are similar to those for other professional women. For example, using 1980 census data, Cooney and Uhlenberg (1989) showed that White women lawyers, physicians, and postsecondary teachers were substantially less likely than White women of the same age in the general population to be married and have children. Among White women between the ages of 35 and 39 with at least ten years of marriage, a substantially higher share of post secondary teachers than of physicians or lawyers were childless (Cooney & Uhlenberg, 1989). Although the challenges associated with balancing work and family roles may not be unique to faculty, these data raise important questions not only about the extent to which marriage and motherhood may limit access to a faculty career in general but also about the specific types of academic positions that are available to married women and women with children. Of particular concern is the extent to which married women and women with children may be concentrated in lower-status faculty positions. Although the representation of women among college and university faculty has increased since the mid-1970s, the greatest growth has been among part-time and nontenure-track appointments (Chronister, Gansneder, Harper, & Baldwin, 1997; Lomperis, 1990). While the number of nontenured but tenure-track full-time faculty increased between 1976 and 1993 at a faster rate for women than men (22% increase for women versus 24% decline for men), the greatest growth has been among non-tenure track appointments. …