IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/gender/v29y2022i1p309-341.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Academic mothers, professional identity and COVID‐19: Feminist reflections on career cycles, progression and practice

Author

Listed:
  • Dorothea Bowyer
  • Milissa Deitz
  • Anne Jamison
  • Chloe E. Taylor
  • Erika Gyengesi
  • Jaime Ross
  • Hollie Hammond
  • Anita Eseosa Ogbeide
  • Tinashe Dune

Abstract

Based on a collection of auto‐ethnographic narratives that reflect our experiences as academic mothers at an Australian university, this paper seeks to illustrate the impact of COVID‐19 on our career cycles in order to explore alternative feminist models of progression and practice in Higher Education. Collectively, we span multiple disciplines, parenting profiles, and racial/ethnic backgrounds. Our narratives (initiated in 2019) explicate four focal points in our careers as a foundation for analyzing self‐definitions of professional identity: pre‐ and post‐maternity career break; and pre‐ and post‐COVID‐19 career. We have modeled this research on a collective feminist research practice that is generative and empowering in terms of self‐reflective models of collaborative research. Considering this practice and these narratives, we argue for a de‐centering of masculinized career cycle patterns and progression pathways both now and beyond COVID‐19. This represents both a challenge to neo‐liberal norms of academic productivity, as well as a call to radically enhance institutional gender equality policies and practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Dorothea Bowyer & Milissa Deitz & Anne Jamison & Chloe E. Taylor & Erika Gyengesi & Jaime Ross & Hollie Hammond & Anita Eseosa Ogbeide & Tinashe Dune, 2022. "Academic mothers, professional identity and COVID‐19: Feminist reflections on career cycles, progression and practice," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 309-341, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:29:y:2022:i:1:p:309-341
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12750
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12750
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/gwao.12750?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jessica L. Malisch & Breanna N. Harris & Shanen M. Sherrer & Kristy A. Lewis & Stephanie L. Shepherd & Pumtiwitt C. McCarthy & Jessica L. Spott & Elizabeth P. Karam & Naima Moustaid-Moussa & Jessica M, 2020. "Opinion: In the wake of COVID-19, academia needs new solutions to ensure gender equity," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 117(27), pages 15378-15381, July.
    2. Tinashe Moira Dune, 2014. "Conceptualizing Sex with Cerebral Palsy: A Phenomenological Exploration of Private Constructions of Sexuality Using Sexual Script Theory," International Journal of Social Science Studies, Redfame publishing, vol. 2(2), pages 20-40, April.
    3. Kim Toffoletti & Karen Starr, 2016. "Women Academics and Work–Life Balance: Gendered Discourses of Work and Care," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(5), pages 489-504, September.
    4. Misty Heggeness, 2020. "Why Is Mommy So Stressed? Estimating the Immediate Impact of the COVID-19 Shock on Parental Attachment to the Labor Market and the Double Bind of Mothers," Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute Working Papers 33, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    5. Cassandra M. Guarino & Victor M. H. Borden, 2017. "Faculty Service Loads and Gender: Are Women Taking Care of the Academic Family?," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 58(6), pages 672-694, September.
    6. Misty L. Heggeness, 2020. "Estimating the immediate impact of the COVID-19 shock on parental attachment to the labor market and the double bind of mothers," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 1053-1078, December.
    7. Junming Huang & Alexander J. Gates & Roberta Sinatra & Albert-László Barabási, 2020. "Historical comparison of gender inequality in scientific careers across countries and disciplines," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 117(9), pages 4609-4616, March.
    8. Batsheva Guy & Brittany Arthur, 2020. "Academic motherhood during COVID‐19: Navigating our dual roles as educators and mothers," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(5), pages 887-899, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. M. Winter, 2023. "Carrie's first academic conference—On the possibilities of feminist storytelling and fiction in management," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(6), pages 2119-2129, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sorana-Alexandra Constantinescu & Maria-Henriete Pozsar, 2022. "Was This Supposed to Be on the Test? Academic Leadership, Gender and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Denmark, Hungary, Romania, and United Kingdom," Publications, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-13, April.
    2. Julie L. Hotchkiss & Robert E. Moore, 2022. "Some Like it Hot: Assessing Longer-Term Labor Market Benefits from a High-Pressure Economy," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 18(2), pages 193-243, June.
    3. Titan Alon & Sena Coskun & Matthias Doepke & David Koll & Michèle Tertilt, 2022. "From Mancession to Shecession: Women’s Employment in Regular and Pandemic Recessions," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(1), pages 83-151.
    4. Katherine Lim & Mike Zabek, 2024. "Women’s Labor Force Exits During COVID-19: Differences by Motherhood, Race, and Ethnicity," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 504-527, September.
    5. Özlem Altan‐Olcay & Suzanne Bergeron, 2024. "Care in times of the pandemic: Rethinking meanings of work in the university," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1544-1559, July.
    6. Marc Diederichs & Reyn van Ewijk & Ingo E. Isphording & Nico Pestel, 2022. "Schools under mandatory testing can mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 119(26), pages 2201724119-, June.
    7. Brad M. Barber & Wei Jiang & Adair Morse & Manju Puri & Heather Tookes & Ingrid M. Werner, 2021. "What Explains Differences in Finance Research Productivity during the Pandemic?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 76(4), pages 1655-1697, August.
    8. Batsheva Guy & Brittany Arthur, 2020. "Academic motherhood during COVID‐19: Navigating our dual roles as educators and mothers," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(5), pages 887-899, September.
    9. Julia Smith, 2022. "From “nobody's clapping for us” to “bad moms”: COVID‐19 and the circle of childcare in Canada," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 353-367, January.
    10. María Jose Luengo-Prado, 2021. "COVID-19 and the Labor Market Outcomes for Prime-Aged Women," Current Policy Perspectives 90899, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    11. Stefan Jestl & Robert Stehrer, 2021. "EU Employment Dynamics: The Pandemic Years and Beyond," wiiw Research Reports 457, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.
    12. Giannina Vaccaro & Tania Paredes, 2022. "COVID-19 and Gender Differences in the Labor Market: Evidence from the Peruvian Economy," Documentos de Trabajo / Working Papers 2022-515, Departamento de Economía - Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.
    13. Pamela K Kreeger & Amy Brock & Holly C Gibbs & K Jane Grande-Allen & Alice H Huang & Kristyn S Masters & Padmini Rangamani & Michaela R Reagan & Shannon L Servoss, 2020. "Ten simple rules for women principal investigators during a pandemic," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(10), pages 1-9, October.
    14. Natalie Nitsche & Ansgar Hudde, 2022. "Countries embracing maternal employment opened schools sooner after Covid-19 lockdowns," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2022-008, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    15. Lisa Hanzl & Miriam Rehm, 2023. "Less Work, More Labor: School Closures and Work Hours During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Austria," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(4), pages 252-284, October.
    16. Blázquez, Maite & Herrarte, Ainhoa & Moro-Egido, Ana I., 2024. "Has the COVID-19 pandemic widened the gender gap in paid work hours in Spain?," Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 90(2), pages 313-348, June.
    17. Lauren Hoehn-Velasco & Adan Silverio-Murillo & Jose Roberto Balmori de la Miyar & Jacob Penglase, 2022. "The impact of the COVID-19 recession on Mexican households: evidence from employment and time use for men, women, and children," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 763-797, September.
    18. Fukai, Taiyo & Ikeda, Masato & Kawaguchi, Daiji & Yamaguchi, Shintaro, 2021. "COVID-19 and the Employment Gender Gap," IZA Discussion Papers 14711, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Biscaye,Pierre E. & Egger,Dennis Timo & Pape,Utz Johann, 2022. "Balancing Work and Childcare : Evidence from COVID-19 School Closures and Reopenings in Kenya," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9958, The World Bank.
    20. Bansak, Cynthia & Grossbard, Shoshana & Wong, Crystal (Ho Po), 2021. "Mothers' Caregiving during COVID: The Impact of Divorce Laws and Homeownership on Women's Labor Force Status," IZA Discussion Papers 14408, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:29:y:2022:i:1:p:309-341. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0968-6673 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.