Choices or Constraints? Family Responsibilities, Gender and Academic Career

Previous research has found that high levels of education and job commitment tend to generate dissimilar patterns of family formation and household responsibility for men and women. Using university-based academics as examples of highly educated professionals with strong career commitment, this paper investigates their family circumstances through a survey of previous research and qualitative interviews in New Zealand. Although more women are now entering the academic profess ion and moving into senior positions, their personal biographies often differ from their male counterparts. The paper reveals the ex tent of family differences, exploring gendered priorities, perceptions and constraints reported by academics with similar educational qualification s. The paper argues that family patterns and practices contribute to the academic gender gap, slow women ’s progression through the ranks, and counteract programs for gender equity and work-life balance recently introduced into many universities.