The academic life course, time pressures and gender inequality

In this paper we examine time pressures facing faculty members in the USA, especially assistant professors. We consider whether the strategy of sequencing life events, specifically ‘tenure first, kids later’, is a viable strategy for faculty today. We draw from the 1998 National Survey of Post‐Secondary Faculty, which includes data on over 10,000 full‐time professors in US universities. We examine the amount of time faculty work on a weekly basis. We then consider the ages of assistant professors. We also document the prevalence of dual‐career marriages in academia. Next we document the patterns of parental responsibilities among assistant professors, and examine the impact of marital and parental status on time devoted to professional responsibilities. We also discuss the impact of time pressures on job satisfaction. This analysis is designed to highlight the challenges of designing more family‐friendly professional positions without recreating or reinforcing gender disparities in earnings and professional status.