Abstract
Returning to work after a career break can be challenging, accordingly employers implement a range of policies, practices, and strategies to support and retain working parents. This chapter analyses the work-family policies at two universities in the Australian university sector, through the eyes of academic parents. Grounding the discussion in the Australian industrial relations system, the authors examine the lived experience of academic parents drawing on two separate qualitative studies at two different Australian Universities. Initiatives in place to enhance career progression for academic parents are tested against lived experience. The authors find that policies and strategies need to be overhauled and suggest more feasible ones that universities can implement to enable the academic parent, who is juggling an academic career with parenting, to succeed in the post COVID uncertainty faced by the higher education sector.
TopBackground
There is a substantial body of literature regarding the effect of the “motherhood penalty” on careers (Pepping and Maniam, 2020), particularly relative to child-free women (Baker, 2010, Budig et al. 2012). The effects range from the application process (Correll et al, 2017) to retirement (Austen et al, 2015). This includes the effect of career interruptions for childbirth but continues after the mother returns to work, with reduced workforce participation through part-time work and carer responsibilities. Lost wages from motherhood tend to be highest for high-earning women, regardless of whether their work record is more continuous than less highly-paid women (England et al 2016). The phenomenon is observed in developed economies where women are participating in the paid labor market, although cultural norms and policies contribute to the extent of family wage gaps in different countries (Cukrowska-Torzewska and Lovasz, 2020).
Key Terms in this Chapter
STEMM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine are disciplines where women are underrepresented.
ROPE: Research Opportunity and Performance Evidence. A Statement that researchers write as part of a funding or promotion application. This statement includes additional information about a researcher's achievements to date in the context of part-time work and career breaks.
Athena SWAN: The Athena Swan is an accreditation framework for gender equity and diversity and recognizes the advancement of gender equality in higher education. It was launched in the UK in 2005.
Leximancer: A computer software developed in Australia in 2006 at the University of Queensland by Dr Andrew Smith, that allows the conduct of quantitative content analysis using a machine learning technique.
Conceptual Map: A Leximancer concept map illustrated the 'Theme', a group or cluster of related concepts. It assists in the thematic and relational analysis of qualitative data.