Women Higher Education Administrators with Children: Negotiating Personal and Professional Lives

The purpose of this exploratory study was to understand how female higher education administrators with children made sense of and negotiated their multiple roles and commitments as professionals and parents. Women at the professional level of dean or higher, at a college or university, and who had school-aged children or younger were interviewed to determine how they negotiated their personal and professional lives. Findings detailed motivations to pursue advanced careers as well as advantages and disadvantages of managing career and family.