Gendered Pathways to Work–Family Balance and Their Consequences: Insights From Dual‐Career Faculty Couples

ABSTRACT This study examines gendered work–family balance (WFB) experiences among dual‐career academic couples at U.S. research‐intensive universities. By comparing faculty couples who shared the same or similar professional and family contexts, the study explores how gendered demands, challenges, resources, and strategies shaped distinct WFB outcomes. Drawing on in‐depth interviews with dual‐career faculty couples and using thematic analysis, we found that both women and men experienced substantial work–family demands and emotional labor, but these pressures were experienced and managed differently. Women described greater burdens related to caregiving responsibilities, biological demands, limited institutional support, and gendered social expectations, which often contributed to tenure delays, emotional exhaustion, and reduced career goals. Men also reported stress and family‐related career adjustments, but they appeared to have greater access to institutional resources, family support, and socially accepted strategies for preserving professional identity and career progression. This study proposes a couple‐level input–process–output (IPO) model to synthesize how gendered inputs, processes, and outcomes unfold among dual‐career faculty couples. The findings underscore the need for universities to develop gender‐sensitive policies and support systems that recognize unequal caregiving expectations, emotional labor, and career consequences among faculty members.