Young Hydrologic Society

A contribution by Lina Stein, Rodolfo Bezerra Nobrega and Diana Spieler

Talking to parents in academia has shown us that improving their circumstances is a layered challenge that requires a combination of changes in workplace culture, institutional support and policy. In this third part of our blog post series, we share the insights gathered from all the discussions we had with parents across different career stages, including PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, and senior academic researchers. We highlight the benefits and challenges of balancing parenthood with an academic career and summarize the ideas for changes mentioned by these researchers and other sources.

Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash

One word that was scattered throughout these conversations was “luck”. “We were lucky that we found a daycare”, “Luckily my supervisor always got my back”, “I have been so lucky with my supervisors”. Since caring for a child requires numerous structural and personal adjustments for parents to reroute their workflows around their new responsibilities, it is the “system” and not luck that should provide the necessary support. Research has shown that a supervisor’s understanding and flexibility regarding parenting responsibilities can significantly impact a parent’s ability to manage both roles effectively (Geraldes et al., 2024). This can give the perception of “luck” playing a role in one’s ability to balance academic and parental responsibilities. We believe that planning for parenthood or living as a parent in academia should not rely on luck, but rather benefit from standardized institutional policies, a shift in workplace culture and supervisor training on the challenges faced by academic parents, so that their success is less dependent on chance and more on structured support. Luck cannot be demanded, structured support can. 

“There is still a need for improved support systems within institutions, such as adequate guidance for new mothers, back-up daycare options and comprehensive academic recovery tracking post-childbirth.”

One good example is daycare. As highlighted in the first part of this blog series, a good daycare is worth its weight in gold. Initiatives within academic institutions or conferences that aim to provide childcare support (in daily life or during conferences) need to ensure a certain quality, availability and reliability in their services. Institutions could improve childcare quality by establishing networks that develop and strengthen supportive community connections among parents. Identifying the necessary mechanisms for this support is challenging, particularly as the availability of parental role models is not necessarily granted. This might be due to the legacy and persistence of a capitalist environment that often expects individuals to prioritize work over personal life and is still disadvantaging those with caregiving responsibilities. Establishing clear standards and innovative frameworks in institutions are the basis for shifting the perception of childcare from a basic service to an essential, development-focused resource. David Maslach from Florida State University states that one of these actions would be the creation of a community or network within academic institutions that establishes the foundation for a platform where experiences, resources, and strategies can be shared among parents and caregivers. 

“This community can also serve as a space for peer mentorship, where more experienced academics can offer guidance and support to those earlier in their journey. Such communities are so important!”
– David Maslach, Florida State University (not part of the survey)

Many researchers also asked for institutions to offer more flexible and supportive policies, such as financial support for accompanying family members when moving to a new institution. One participant highlighted that it is still commonly conveyed by senior scientists that becoming a successful scientist requires working in various places around the world. They often stress the importance of their own experiences in shaping their careers, and this perspective is generally respected without dispute. In Germany, the German Research Foundation (DFG), one of the major funding agencies, until very recently still had specific funding only available for researchers that spend time abroad. While the motivation – providing young researchers with new scientific research methods – is honorable, it ignores the lived reality of families, that cannot easily relocate. Current funding opportunities allow candidates to select institutions within Germany, but they must not have worked longer than one year at the proposed institution. Given the carefully crafted network families rely on to combine work and family life, even moving cities can be extremely challenging. This has been an issue also in other fellowship schemes, such as the ones from the European Union and the UK Research and Innovation. Trisha Greenhalgh and Ed Hawkins argue that penalising fellowship applicants for their choice to not move to new institutions can be highly unfair. As one participant phrased it accurately:

“However, being an involved parent to my children has taught me countless valuable lessons that I doubt I would have learned had I pursued multiple post-doctoral positions at different universities and these lessons surely help me to be a better scientist everyday. In today’s world, it is possible to establish extensive global connections without the need to undertake five post-doctoral positions at five different universities.”

Parents in academia face high pressure and workloads due to the dual responsibilities of career and family life. Many academic mothers report handling not only their professional duties, such as research, teaching, service, and administration, but also shouldering most childcare and household tasks. This burden is sometimes exacerbated by policies that inconsistently account for parental leave in grant eligibility and career progression. Imbalances, rooted in traditional gender roles, underscore the need for policies like extended parental leave for both partners to foster a more equal distribution of responsibilities and provide vital family support. Rigid 9-5 schedules are increasingly unrealistic for new parents, but not all institutions have a framework where parents can block out non-teaching hours.

“I appreciate to have meetings, conferences and sessions to start for example at 9.30am instead of 9am to have time to drop my son off (now, I’m forced to apologise each time a meeting starts at 9am).”