Women Academics Forgo Childbirth for Career Progression? Performances of Their Body Boundaries

Bibliographic Details
Title: Women Academics Forgo Childbirth for Career Progression? Performances of Their Body Boundaries
Language: English
Authors: Li Bao (ORCID 0000-0001-9592-5812)
Source: European Journal of Education. 2024 59(4).
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 10
Publication Date: 2024
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: College Faculty, Females, Mothers, Birth, Career Development, Foreign Countries, Human Body, Expectation, Child Rearing, Performance
Geographic Terms: China
DOI: 10.1111/ejed.12785
ISSN: 0141-8211
1465-3435
Abstract: In recent decades, research has explored tension between women academics' motherhood and institutional discourse. This study, however, delves into the performances of nine Chinese women academics who are mothers and their body boundaries between motherhood and career progression based on semistructured interview data, using thematic analysis driven by the Butlerian theoretical concept of bodies. This approach contributes to a more nuanced understanding of academic mothers in the Chinese higher education context. The findings show that academic mothers strategically perform their bodies by maintaining, crossing and disciplining their body boundaries to satisfy social and institutional discourses. The findings reveal that academic mothers constantly face the tension between career expectations and motherhood. This study has implications for policy makers in academia, higher education institutions and women academics.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2024
Accession Number: EJ1450286
Database: ERIC
More Details
ISSN:0141-8211
1465-3435
DOI:10.1111/ejed.12785
Published in:European Journal of Education
Language:English