The Dilemma of the ‘Double Day’
Although men are doing more, many women in higher education still find they have two domains – the university and the home
It’s a new twist on an old theme. Men have done it for years — left their families temporarily so that they could pursue better opportunities. And now women in the academy appear to be doing it, too.
We should be clear, however, on one point: No numbers exist to indicate how widespread this phenomenon is, while plenty of evidence documents the woes of mothers at the other end of the spectrum.
As Dr. JoAnn Haysbert, provost and chief operating officer of Hampton University and a mother of five, says with a sigh, “The academy is not a friendly place for mothers.”
In that respect, it’s little different from the rest of American society. Last year, for example, Catalyst — a leading research and advisory organization working to advance the careers of women in business and the professions — asked 3,000 women in their 20s and 30s to name the biggest barriers to their advancement. The culprit, the women said by a 68 percent margin, was family and personal responsibilities, beating out lack of mentoring, lack of expertise and even stereotyping and sexism.
