Women and Career/Personal Balance

The Stats: Women and Career/Personal Balance 

source: http://careerwise.asu.edu/balance

• Female doctoral student parents report spending more time on childcare and household responsibilities than male doctoral student parents.^[1]
• Many faculty expect women to wait until after they graduate to have children.^[3]  Perhaps as a consequence, students who become pregnant are often afraid to share this news with their advisors.^[4]
• Even women without children might face a common stereotype that they are less committed to a career in science because it is assumed they will one day make family responsibilities a priority.^[5]
• If married, women in the science and engineering fields are more likely than men to be married to someone in the same field with an equally demanding career.^[6]  This implies that women are less likely to have a partner who is available to help with non-work related responsibilities.  
• Women’s career mobility declines once they marry, more so than for men.^[7]
• Many girls and women decide against pursuing a career in STEM* due to the perception that this career path does not provide sufficient flexibility for women with families.^[8]
• For women across academic disciplines (but not as much for men), a successful academic career often means having to make difficult choices about family.^[9] 

*The acronym S.T.E.M. stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.