Fierce Mothers: The Cords that Bind Us

Abstract

Scholarship concerning mothers in higher education reveals that women who had children during doctoral studies are discriminated against at a much higher rate than men. Beyond PhD attainment, Women of Color continue to face institutional inequity-women who have children within five years of receiving their doctoral degree are 20-25% less likely to receive tenure-thus emerging scholarship on the experiences and activism of mothers in higher education is a necessary counternarrative and catalyst for change. Mothers of Color in Academia (MOCA) began as a student collective aiming to build systemic policies that address the unique needs of Mothers of Color and allies at a university. Our existential refusal to remain unseen informs our on-campus movement to demand and reclaim space as maternal activists. Toward that end, this manuscript delineates our genesis as MOCA and the kinship bonds that grew out of our activism. Finally, we offer reflections on our maternal activism and the tangible successes brought about within the corporate university climate.

Motherscholars Traversing the Educational Pipeline through Moments of Sacred Pause

“…Acknowledging that universities are not equipped with the resources to receive, support, retain and graduate parenting students, the onus to demand change often lands on the backs of parenting students for academic change (Caballero et al, 2016;Cisneros et al, 2016;Hidalgo et al, 2022). Mothers of Color in Academia (MOCA) assert in "Fierce Mothers: The Cords that Bind Us" (2022) that MOCA expresses the power of mother mobility and activisms in their organized efforts.…”

“…MOCA demanded and materialized a different university (Hidalgo, Vega, Cisneros, & Reyes, 2022) even as they navigated degree completion deadlines, coursework, teaching obligations, as well as caretaking responsibilities, and dissertation writing. MOCA's activism and comadrismo, fostered moments of sacred pause -ease, joy, celebration, and validation of each other amidst a hostile neoliberal university.…”

“…In a study by the Institute for Women's Policy Research found that in 2017, more women than men earned Ph.D.'s, however, the pay was far less (2018). Motherscholars with children under five pursuing faculty positions are less likely to receive tenure (Hidalgo, Vega, Cisneros & Reyes, 2022;Caballero et al, 2019;Téllez, 2013). While these related educational pipeline numbers are powerful on their own, without a complementary narrative, quantitative analyses risk homogenizing experience (Covarrubias, et.…”

“…Academia and motherhood are crucibles that provided us with moments of rupture, moments that called into painful clarity the impossibility of moving forward with the status quo." Mothers of Color in Academia(Hidalgo, Vega, Cisneros, & Reyes, 2022 pg. 129) -Feminist Formations Since my first encounter with the Educational Pipeline as an undergraduate transfer student at UCLA in 2004, I paused in rage and reflection, questioning my educational trajectory to address the leaks.…”