Reflections on Maternity and Academia, by Carola Gómez-Rodríguez
Adapted video transcript (from 1:34)
I have been invited to WISE (Women in Science-Ecology meeting) to talk about maternity. I am one of the co-founders of MadresBDV, a group of Spanish postdocs - Spanish moms- who study biodiversity. We are concerned about the impact that maternity has on women's careers. As you all probably know, many women leave academia after having their first child.
The formation of a family is one of the main reasons for the lower proportion of women in Academia. So the key question is: "Why does starting a family affect women so much?" And, even more importantly, can we do something to help? This is my personal view. It does not apply to every single woman in Academia, but it applies to many of us.
The first biological reason is that we cannot delay having children forever. This is simply a biological reality, and it wouldn't be such a problem if it weren't coupled with a larger structural issue in some countries, mainly those with lower research funding, like Spain. This structural problem is the late age at which researchers get a permanent position, or at least some level of professional security. I am talking about having huge professional uncertainty until your early or mid-40s. This may be too late for many women to start a family.
The other main biological reason is also obvious: we are the ones who get pregnant, who breastfeed, who take on a significant share of early baby care. Fathers cannot do these things, even if they would love to, they simply can't. This means that, even though we can and should advocate for equal responsibility in raising a child, certain aspects of parenthood are exclusive to mothers. And they require a huge investment in time and energy.
This shouldn't be a big problem if you consider the long term. In a 40-year career, would it really matter if a woman in her 30s had a period of lower scientific productivity? No, it would be completely irrelevant. The real issue is that many women do not get to have this long career because this biological reality coincides with a stage when their careers are particularly vulnerable, mainly due to funding shortages (e.g., postdoc contract lasting only two years).
Moreover, at this vulnerable period, we are subjected to highly competitive evaluations. Many of the people assessing our CVs – the ones deciding whether we have achieved enough in our careers- do not take into account the impact that maternity can have on women’s professional trajectories. This is the moment when many women leave Academia or as we’d rather say, this is the moment when many women are shown the exit door of Academia.
I want to emphasize something: this short period of lower scientific productivity does not happen to every woman. There will always be women who experience little or no career slowdown, and that is fantastic. However, we must be careful not to turn this into an argument against other academic mothers. Some may say, “If she could do it, why can’t you?”—but that reasoning is problematic. We need to be aware of this risk.
Maternity is not the only factor contributing to the lower proportion of women in Academia. We could make two very broad categories. On one side, the factors that we can control, or at least try to control. And on the other side, the factors beyond our control, or those that we can do very little about them.
In the first category, we have those (big or small) things that each of us can do to increase our chances of having a successful career. They are tied to our personal decisions, to how we see ourselves, to how we confront our fears and insecurities. This is why initiatives about inspiring women are so valuable. It's good to have clear references, but it is not enough. As, I have said, there are other factors beyond our control that are also driving this lower proportion of women in Academia. One is maternity. The other one is that we cannot control how other people see us. What I am talking about is the famous unconscious gender bias.
This bias is related to the fact that, often, female scientists do not look as good as male scientists in the eyes of their peers. And these peers can be both men or women, because women, too, can have unconscious gender bias. This is why it's crucial to be aware of our own biases before making decisions that impact other people's lives.
With all these things in mind, we decided to start this community: MadresBDV. We have some wishes, some recommendations.
First, we should all put our purple glasses on. In other words, we must get rid of our unconscious gender bias, and we need to do it as soon as possible.
Second, maternity should be taken into account when evaluating CVs. The impact of fatherhood, of being a father, having a kid, raising a kid, should also be considered, but it's not the same. This may not be obvious to some people or institutions, like the Spanish government. In its human resources programs, the Spanish government applies the same compensation criteria to both mothers and fathers. This is a clear example of an institution ignoring the effect of maternity on women's careers. Because, if you believe that having a child has the same impact on a man's and on a woman's career, then you're just not accounting for it.
Another important issue is the so-called 50-50 balance. This idea assumes that if we have the same number of women and men on evaluation panels, then the problem of women's underrepresentation in Academia will somehow solve itself. But this is simply not true. First, because women also have unconscious gender bias (and this bias is often against other women). And second, because some women experience what it is known as the survivorship bias. This bias affects individuals -women, in this case women- who have succeeded in a system where many others have failed. As a result, they may feel that if they were able to make it, anyone could make it. This is a problem, and this is why it is legitimate to demand for a 50-50 balance in all critical aspects of Academia, particularly those regarding career development.
We could also make life easier for both moms and dads. Things such as providing childcare facilities, or scheduling meetings at family-friendly times. These are easy solutions that would greatly benefit academic parents. Additionally, we can advocate for specific hiring programs for mothers or for individuals who have had long career breaks.
These are our wishes. This is what we ask. And we ask you.
We ask you, as members of Academia, because we cannot fix the problem alone. We need everyone to be involved in this. Because in the end, we must decide:
Do we want an Academia where the underrepresentation of women is not a problem? Or do we want an Academia where this problem no longer exists?
I want the second one.
And you?
.-.-.-.-.
This video was recorded in November 2020
