As we celebrate International Women’s Day, it’s vital to reflect on the persistent challenges women face in academia. Research has long highlighted gender inequalities in higher education. In this blog, Karen Jones, Associate Professor in Educational Leadership and Management, sheds new light on the lived experiences of women academics by exploring the impact of precarious employment on women’s careers and the pressures surrounding maternity leave. Her studies expose the hidden ways in which academic structures disadvantage women and reinforce a “care ceiling” limiting their career progression.
The pressure to work through maternity leave
Higher education institutions increasingly function like corporations, prioritising efficiency, competition and productivity. This is particularly challenging for women with caregiving responsibilities. In my study on maternity leave, women academics described feeling an implicit expectation to work through maternity leave to avoid career setbacks. An alarming 69% of participants reported continuing to work – writing papers, applying for grants, responding to emails, supervising doctoral students and even teaching – often at the expense of their well-being. Many did so out of fear that stepping away would harm their career progression or make reintegration difficult.
Precarious employment and the motherhood penalty
In my study on postdoctoral career breaks, I found that women are far more likely than men to take career breaks for maternity and caregiving responsibilities. Meanwhile, men who take breaks typically do so due to redundancy or contract expiration. Furthermore, women who take breaks often struggle to secure permanent positions or leadership roles. Casualised fixed-term contracts – now commonplace in higher education – put women at a particular disadvantage. Many women on these contracts lack access to full maternity benefits and face higher risks of redundancy while on leave.
The study also revealed a troubling gender disparity in career mobility. Women were more likely to return to work at the same institution in lower-status roles, whereas men were more likely to secure new positions at different institutions, often with better prospects. This suggests that systemic barriers make it harder for women to move up the academic ladder after a career break, creating a motherhood penalty.
The “care ceiling” in academia
While universities have policies for maternity/parental leave and career breaks, their implementation is inconsistent. Employer support for career breaks was reported as “mixed and largely inadequate”. Although no significant difference was found based on sex, the practical implications of poor support disproportionately affect women, given their higher likelihood of taking maternity and family related breaks. Consequently, the “care ceiling” in academia acts as a significant barrier for career progression due to the unspoken assumption that the ideal academic is unencumbered by caregiving responsibilities.
Performance metrics often reward those who can work long hours, travel frequently, and produce research outputs continuously, disadvantaging those who take breaks for family reasons. This places an emotional and psychological burden on women navigating academia. The expectation to maintain high levels of productivity while on maternity leave and managing caregiving responsibilities leads to stress, burnout, and feelings of inadequacy. Many women reported working through maternity leave not out of passion alone, but due to a deep-seated fear of falling behind or losing professional credibility. Moreover, women in postdoctoral roles often experience isolation and exclusion from key academic networks, which are crucial for career advancement.
The way forward: Policy and cultural change
Addressing these challenges requires both policy reform and cultural change. My research highlights four key recommendations to support women in academia:
- Improved maternity and parental leave policies – Universities must ensure that maternity and parental leave provisions are standardised and equitable, particularly for fixed-term and contract staff.
- Support for career breaks – Institutions should implement re-entry programmes to help academics transition back into research and teaching after a break.
- Recognition of care responsibilities in promotion criteria – Universities must acknowledge the impact of caregiving duties and adjust performance metrics accordingly to account for periods of absence and reintegration following a break.
- Cultural change in academia – Moving away from the “ideal academic” model towards a more inclusive and flexible work culture is essential for retaining and supporting women’s career progression in higher education.
On International Women’s Day, it’s not enough to celebrate achievements – we must also take concrete steps to dismantle the barriers that persist. The “care ceiling” in academia is real, but with meaningful policy changes and a shift in institutional culture, we can create a more equitable system where women are not penalised for balancing caregiving with their careers. If universities are truly committed to gender equality, they must recognise and address the systemic disadvantages faced by women academics.
Dr Karen Jones is Associate Professor in Educational Leadership and Management at the Institute of Education.