What it’s really like to be a parent in the world of higher education, and how academia can make this hard climb a little less steep

Academia has a big problem. For many parents—especially mothers—the idea of “work-life balance” is a work-life myth. Parents and caregivers work harder than ever to grow and thrive in their careers while juggling the additional responsibilities that accompany parenthood. Sudden disruptions and daily constraints such as breastfeeding, sick days that keep children home from school, and the sleep deprivation that plagues the early years of parenting threaten to derail careers. Some experience bias and harassment related to pregnancy or parental leave. The result is an academic Chutes and Ladders, where career advancement is nearly impossible for parents who lack access to formal or informal support systems.

In The PhD Parenthood Trap, Kerry F. Crawford and Leah C. Windsor reveal the realities of raising kids, on or off the tenure track, and suggest reforms to help support parents throughout their careers. Insights from their original survey data and poignant vignettes from scholars across disciplines make it clear that universities lack understanding, uniform policies, and flexibility for family formation, hurting the career development of parent-scholars. Each chapter includes recommendations for best practices and policy changes that will help make academia an exemplar of progressive family-leave policies. Topics covered include pregnancy, adoption, miscarriage and infant loss, postpartum depression, family leave, breastfeeding, daily parenting challenges, the tenure clock, and more. The book concludes with advice to new or soon-to-be parents to help them better navigate parenthood in academia.

The PhD Parenthood Trap provides scholars, academic mentors, and university administrators with empirical evidence and steps to break down personal and structural barriers between parenthood and scholarly careers.

Kerry F. Crawford is an associate professor of political science at James Madison University. She is the author of Wartime Sexual Violence (Georgetown University Press, 2017) and Human Security: Theory and Action. She is the mother of three young children.

Leah C. Windsor is a research associate professor in the Institute for Intelligent Systems at the University of Memphis. She directs the Languages Across Cultures lab and is the author of numerous studies at the intersection of linguistics and political science. She is the mother of two young children.

List of Figures

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Surviving or Thriving in the Academy? Insights from a Survey on Family Formation and Parenthood

2. Thesis Baby: Getting Student Parents the Support They Need

3. How to Scale the Ladders While Sidestepping the Chutes: On Parenting without the Security of Tenure

4. The Elusive Work-Life Balance: Daily Challenges in Academic Parenting

5. Doctor, Parent: Recognizing the Range of Experiences

6. Sick and Tired: The Physical Toll of Parenthood

7. Love, Loss, and Longing: Fertility Struggles, Adoption, Miscarriage, and Infant and Child Loss

8. Express Yourself: Breastfeeding and Lactation in the Ivory Tower

9. Looking Back, Moving Forward: Conversation Starters for a More Inclusive Academic Environment

Survey Questions

References

List of Vignette Contributors

Index

About the Authors