In Pursuit of Academic Careers: Observations and Reflections of a Dual-Career Couple

A Systematic Reflection Upon Dual Career Couples

“…Generally, women are overrepresented in fixed-term and part-time contracts (for European comparison see Petrongolo 2004, for Germany see Dressel 2005, for the UK see Thornley 2007). 11 In academia, for example, women are employed more often than men as fixed-term (third-party) research staff or with a scholarship, rather than assistants or readers/lecturers (for the USA see Ezrati 1983, Bird & Bird 1987, for Germany see Geenen 1994, Fuchs et al 2001Krimmer et al 2003, for the UK see Knights & Richards 2003). As result, women earn lower wages, 12 face more unsecure employment prospects, and restricted opportunities for professional development.…”

“…On the basis of traditional gender roles expectations, employers assume that on average men and women differ in their productivity, skills, etc., and are therefore less willing to hire and promote women. Particularly North American studies have shown that employers often judge women -even university graduates -as less career oriented than men, and expect them to reduce (if not even entirely quit) their professional engagement in favor of their family (Bird & Bird 1987, MonkTurner & Turner 1987, Bryant et al 1988, Stroh & Reilly 1999. 14 According to a German research on psychologists and physicians, more women do indeed define professional success differently than men -namely as successful reconciliation of employment and family (Dettmer & Hoff 2005).…”

“…are often more concerned than men with 'meshing' or coordinating their careers with those of their partners (Matthews & Matthews 1980, Bird & Bird 1987, Monk-Turner & Turner 1987, Pixley & Moen 2003, Ackers 2004, Behnke & Meuser 2005. As a result, they are more often "tied" mover or stayer; i.e., they reject more often job offers in other locations, or move more often in order to follow their partners rather than for their own career advancement.…”

“…26 This is especially the case for married female academics. Because of their lower bargain power as a result of their limited mobility, institutions often consider these women as 'captive' employees and offer them less advantageous positions (Ezrati 1983, Bird & Bird 1987, Smart & Smart 1990). Finally, once couples have found two acceptable positions, they might thereafter limit their geographical mobility and in the long run face the risk of achieving either only sub-optimal or short-lived dual careers.…”

“…Because both perspectives neglect a systematical comparison and analysis of untypical couples, they cannot explain why untypical couples, for example those in which the female partner is older and/or professionally more successful than the male partner, or couples formed in later years, do not behave in a similar manner. 29 In fact, there is some evidence that couples in which the women is the senior partner do not prioritize the (her) leading career to the same extent than age typical couples do (Hawkes et al 1980, Bird & Bird 1987. 30 However, it remains unclear why this is the case; i.e., whether these couples are different with respect to their composition (e.g., as regard to children, or start of the relationship with respect to the career steps achieved by then), or whether these untypical couples have more egalitarian gender role beliefs than 'typical' couples.…”