parental leave policies were somewhat or very important in choosing their current faculty position, compared to 20.6% of men (χ 2 = 141.81, P < 10 −30 ; Fig. 3C ). On the other hand, women and men placed similar and substantial value on the prestige of their current or a future position, rating prestige as somewhat or very important (89.9 or 56.9% of women and 89.3 or 57.6% of men; χ 2 = 0.77, P = 0.68 and χ 2 = 0.35, P = 0.84). Fig. 3. Parental leave policy availability, knowledge, importance, and usage for faculty. Open in a new tab Proportions of ( A ) universities with parental leave policies, ( B ) early-career parents with knowledge of those policies, ( C ) faculty who reported that parental leave was important in choosing their current position, and ( D ) eligible parents’ usage of those policies, for faculty in computer science (blue), business (red), and history (green) faculty. Parental leave policies are coded as either at least 10 weeks long (roughly a semester; solid), more than 0 and less than 10 weeks (lighter), unknown policy (lightest), or no paid leave (empty). Pairwise hypotheses tests across gender with *** P < 0.01. Among computer science faculty, early-career women with children reported less satisfaction with their current positions than women without children (58.3 versus 70.0%; t = −2.04, P = 0.05), suggesting parenthood as a potentially important factor in retention, although no such differences exist in the other fields we surveyed. Across all fields, 67.2 versus 72.7% of early-career women, with and without children, said that they were somewhat or very satisfied ( t = −0.86, P = 0.39). Differences in job satisfaction remain insignificant when we compare men with and without children and older women with and without children. Among early-career men, 78.0% of those with children, versus 79.0% of those without children, indicated that they were satisfied at their current position. Among older women, overall job satisfaction was compa

... United States indicated that female scientists , those in laboratory - based sciences and , especially, those with young children experienced a substantial decline in 160 Challenging Approaches to Academic Career - Making. Against a background of changing patterns of academic labour in the UK and other English speaking countries, this book draws on empirical research which identifies a shift towards more open-ended approaches to roles and careers in higher education. This has resulted in what the authors describe as 'concertina-like' careers, in which individuals stretch the spaces and timescales available to them. Underpinning this process, the concept of 'career scripts' shows how the career paths of individuals may be informed by formal career structures (Institutional scripts) but also by activity associated with professional practice (Practice scripts), and by personal strengths, interests and commitments (Internal scripts). This has led to new forms of activity, within both the formal institutional eco