Balancing Work, Life, and Care Responsibilities in Academia: The Male Perspective

Several studies have shown the impact of parenthood on academic careers and the existence of a motherhood penalty. However, fathers’ experiences of reconciling caring responsibilities with academic work are less studied. The article explores the practices and representations of fatherhood and reconciliation practices in Italian academia. The analysis is based on 64 semi-structured interviews with male associate professors and postdoc researchers in various Italian universities, working in STEM and SSH departments. The results indicate that, in the early stages of the academic career, men similarly to women tend to postpone parenthood or to choose not to have children. Those men who have children, instead, enact different models of fatherhood that we have called the ‘absent father’, the ‘negotiator’ and the ‘present father’, without significant differences among disciplines or academic positions. However, only a minority of fathers are closely involved in childcare, and they experience penalties and work-related stress. The article gives insights into possible policies to support the work-life balance of the (still rare) involved academic fathers and to encourage the others to share care duties more equally with their partners.