Academic parenthood nowadays

My interest in academic parenthood developed years ago, as I began to experience firsthand the dance between research deadlines, teaching, and school pick-ups. This personal experience led me to collaborate with international colleagues on a paper that examined the impact of COVID-19 on academic parents. We explored how the pandemic disrupted routines, required academic parents to continue their academic work while becoming full-time home-teachers for their children, and intensified existing inequalities in academia.

During the pandemic, academic parents bore a disproportionate share of the burden. With schools and daycares closed, many of us found ourselves juggling full teaching loads, ongoing research, and constant childcare; all within the same four walls. Time for deep thinking or writing became a luxury. Women, in particular, were often expected to be the default parent, leading to a further widening of the gender gap in academic output during this period.

As schools reopened and hybrid options became more common, we saw slow improvement. Flexibility was introduced into many work schedules, and remote work was finally recognized as legitimate. For a while, it felt as though the academic system might learn from the crisis. Some universities even put supportive policies in place: tenure clock freezes, more understanding of asynchronous teaching needs, and increased attention to mental health.

However, that window of flexibility didn’t stay open indefinitely. Over time, many institutions began to push for a return to in-person presence. Meetings were scheduled back on campus, and remote options quietly disappeared. There was a renewed focus on physical visibility as a measure of commitment; something that is particularly challenging for academic parents whose responsibilities don’t stop at 5 p.m. or neatly align with university schedules.

We may have thought that the pandemic would lead to a more inclusive, human-centered approach in academia. We had a chance to rethink the demands we place on scholars and those balancing caregiving roles. There’s more flexibility today than in the pre-pandemic world, yes, but the expectations haven’t eased. Excellence is still measured by productivity metrics that assume uninterrupted time and full availability.

Many schools continue to operate under the assumption that one parent is always available for mid-afternoon pick-ups, sick days, 11am sports competitions which they tell us about two days in advance, or school holidays. This simply does not reflect the realities of dual-career families or single parents in academia. And the burden of figuring out the logistics again falls too often on women.

Balancing academic work with parenting remains a challenge, and you may feel as if you are always falling behind on both fronts. While the landscape has changed slightly since COVID-19, much of the burden still falls on individuals to “make it work.”

How do you see academic parenthood nowadays? Have we learned from the pandemic at all?