Female Professors Forgo Kids for Tenure

None by Elizabeth Ziegler

University of Utah Researcher Co-authors Study of Professionals with Children

(KCPW News) Advances in gender equality are typically tracked with dollar signs and workforce statistics. But a new study co-authored by University of Utah researcher Nick Wolfinger looks at the domestic side of the equation.

"This paper is about children. And what kind of children professionals have," Wolfinger says. "We called the paper ‘Alone in the Ivory Tower' because professors have fewer children than other people in other professions. And female professors are the least likely to have children."

The study analyzed US Census data for doctors, lawyers and professors. It shows that overall men in these professions have more children than women. And of the three, professors have the fewest children. But women in academia [a-ka-DEE-me-ah] tend to have the least. In fact, the study indicates they are 41 percent less likely to have kids than female physicians. One reason for this could be the tenure-track system, Wolfinger says. Getting tenure typically comes at age 40 - after women's prime childbearing years. Women who want to work part-time must take lower-paid adjunct faculty positions, forgo job security and, often, health benefits. Wolfinger says this indicates that getting into the "Ivory Tower" comes at a high cost for women.

"So traditionally, feminism has measured women's progress as professional equality, where women get the same jobs as men and get the same amount of money. But we look at it another way," Wolfinger says. "We say, sure that's true, but we also have to look at whether women have paid a price in terms of their families. And it seems that academics have paid the biggest price because they have fewer children."

Female faculty also are more likely of the three professions studied to be separated, widowed or divorced. Wolfinger says University of Utah has a progressive maternity leave program that could help mitigate this effect locally. However, he says, on-site, affordable childcare, and part-time tenure track positions could also help female professors start a family and keep their jobs.

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