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

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.

Maternal self-conception and mental wellbeing during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative interview study through the lens of “intensive mothering” and “ideal worker” ideology

“…Our small study adds a critical in-depth analysis of socially effective and self-imposed motherhood norms, their interconnectedness with one's professional role's expectations, and their impact on wellbeing and mental health. Similarly, critical pieces started to emerge in personal reflections of women in the field of public health and associated disciplines, e.g., in auto-ethnographies and reflexive essays ( 51 , 52 ). Most of these apply a feminist perspective criticizing the (at least partially reinforced) gender inequalities in parenting, care, and paid work during the pandemic.…”

Working remotely with school‐aged children: Use of reflection to identify strategies to improve work–life balance

“…In the Bowyer et al. study (2021), they evidenced academic mothers lacking motivation. One participant stated,

So, my motivation has shifted to “survival mode” at present and focusing on the tasks at hand.

…”

“…The additional personal responsibilities that academic mothers found themselves needing to attend to were combined with an intense pressure from their institutions to not just maintain teaching but quickly transition to virtually learning and become even more diligent with the students who were struggling with the COVID‐19 crisis. The message became quite clear, students’ needs come first, and faculty were expected to shoulder these additional burdens with little or no support (Bowyer et al., 2021, p. 18). This became, for many, an overwhelming feat that resulted in faculty, especially academic mothers, lacking the motivation and capability to move forward in an attempt to be productive.…”

Autoestima de mães universitárias no ambiente acadêmico

“…Os estímulos estressores resultantes das experiências maternais aliados a um ambiente, possivelmente, ameaçador podem desencadear sintomas como angústia, ansiedade, baixa autoestima, frustração, tristeza e abandono, como forma de resposta da percepção pessoal da mulher (MARTINS BG, et al, 2019) Quando se refere, especificamente, à conciliação das atribuições da maternidade com o dever de uma estudante universitária, as dificuldades encontradas parecem interferir na qualidade de formação dessas mulheres. Tais dificuldades perpassam a falta de apoio institucional, a falta de uma rede de apoio entre familiares, amigos e conhecidos, questões de carência financeira, entre opressões culturais e sociais baseadas no gênero (BOWYER D, et al, 2021).…”