Abstract
An instrumental case study (Stake, 1995) explored the messages STEM postdoctoral scholar women receive about balancing an academic career with a family. Concerningly, women with children are less likely than men with children, or women and men without children, to be offered tenure-track positions or to be promoted (Bird & Rhoton, 2021; Cech & Blair-Lory, 2019; Gregor et al., 2021; Williams & Ceci, 2012; Ysseldyk et al., 2019). This reality suggests that motherhood is in opposition to professional legitimacy in academia (Hill et al., 2014; Thébaud & Taylor, 2021). Furthermore, postdoctoral scholar mothers are more likely than their peers to cite children as their primary reason for not entering the faculty job market (NPA ADVANCE, 2011). Interviews were conducted with 22 demographically diverse STEM postdoctoral scholar women to explore how messages about balancing career and family are considered. Using inductive and deductive methods (Silverman, 1993; Stake, 1995), interview transcripts were analyzed using the ideal worker conceptual framework (Kossek et al., 2021). Two themes arose: (1) STEM postdoctoral women receive messages suggesting they must sacrifice family pursuits for an academic career, and (2) positive modeling and support for balancing career and family are vital for retaining STEM postdoctoral women in the professoriate pathway. These findings illustrate a systemic conflict for STEM postdoctoral scholar women. They describe a necessity to sacrifice family desires, yet positive modeling and support for balancing career and family send messages suggesting it is possible to plan for both. This research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP; award #1821008).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings |
| State | Published - Aug 23 2022 |
| Event | 129th ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition: Excellence Through Diversity, ASEE 2022 - Minneapolis, United States Duration: Jun 26 2022 → Jun 29 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.
Funding
Traditionally, tenure-track faculty positions have been strictly bound by ideal worker norms of productivity and the prioritization of work above all else (Ahmad, 2017; Kossek et al., 2021; Miller & Riley, 2021). While participants felt the constraints of these expectations, some, through positive modeling, saw ways to be successful without conforming to these norms (Thébaud & Taylor, 2021). Postdoctoral scholars who lacked positive role models felt constricted by institutional standards and career expectations which messaged that academic mothers could not be serious scholars. Thus, the baby penalty was well in effect (Ysseldyk et al., 2019). Higher education institutions must develop a more inclusive paradigm that supports realistic role expectations if they want to dismantle the concept of the ideal worker (Kossek et al., 2021; Miller & Riley, 2021). Institutional policies and practices supported by the National Science Foundation ADVANCE program promote a call to action to increase family-friendly policies to recruit and retain more women in STEM academia (Hill et al., 2014). While these policies and practices are espoused in support of women, all would benefit from a shift in the ideal worker expectation as it does not align with today’s demands of the professoriate. An instrumental case study (Stake, 1995) explored the messages STEM postdoctoral scholar women receive about balancing an academic career with a family. Concerningly, women with children are less likely than men with children, or women and men without children, to be offered tenure-track positions or to be promoted (Bird & Rhoton, 2021; Cech & Blair-Lory, 2019; Gregor et al., 2021; Williams & Ceci, 2012; Ysseldyk et al., 2019). This reality suggests that motherhood is in opposition to professional legitimacy in academia (Hill et al., 2014; Thébaud & Taylor, 2021). Furthermore, postdoctoral scholar mothers are more likely than their peers to cite children as their primary reason for not entering the faculty job market (NPA ADVANCE, 2011). Interviews were conducted with 22 demographically diverse STEM postdoctoral scholar women to explore how messages about balancing career and family are considered. Using inductive and deductive methods (Silverman, 1993; Stake, 1995), interview transcripts were analyzed using the ideal worker conceptual framework (Kossek et al., 2021). Two themes arose: (1) STEM postdoctoral women receive messages suggesting they must sacrifice family pursuits for an academic career, and (2) positive modeling and support for balancing career and family are vital for retaining STEM postdoctoral women in the professoriate pathway. These findings illustrate a systemic conflict for STEM postdoctoral scholar women. They describe a necessity to sacrifice family desires, yet positive modeling and support for balancing career and family send messages suggesting it is possible to plan for both. This research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP; award #1821008).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| STEM academia | |
| National Science Foundation Arctic Social Science Program | 1821008 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Engineering