The perception of the impact of maternity and paternity in scientific careers in Life Sciences in Spain

Abstract

Women and men’s representation in advanced stages of the scientific career is unbalanced, a fact that has been related with different factors, namely the time dedicated to motherhood. The perception of the impact of motherhood and fatherhood on the development of the scientific career in Life Sciences in Spain was evaluated through a survey carried out with 324 researchers. Most researchers perceive that parenting has a negative effect on their careers, particularly on women and when the children are young. Female researchers with children have displaced more of their time dedicated to work for activities related to childcare than their male colleagues. Moreover, more than half of the researchers specify that they have modified their plans regarding maternity / paternity due to their careers. Researchers propose several mitigation strategies to improve the balance between parenting and scientific career.