Mama, Ph.D.

Call for Submissions: Mama, Ph.D

Women Write about Motherhood and the Academy

Edited by Caroline Grant and Elrena Evans

The academic year 2001-2002 marked the first time that American universities granted over half of their earned Ph.Ds to women. Yet in that same year, over 70% of faculty teaching at the nation’s top institutions were male. (Wilson, Robin. “Where the Elite Teach, It's Still a Man's World.” Chronicle of Higher Education 51 (2004): A8.) American universities consistently publish glowing reports on glossy papers stating their commitment to diversity in the workplace, showing statistics of female hires as proof of their success. But the facts remain: women in the university make up a disproportionately large number of adjunct and non-tenure-track faculty, while the majority of tenure-track positions are granted to men. Women who do achieve tenure-track placement tend to report slow advancement, income disparity, and lack of job satisfaction when compared to their male colleagues.

The disequilibrium between male and female university faculty is perhaps seen at its strongest when looking at those who choose to be both professors and parents. Like in many other workforces, mothers in the academy stand at a significant disadvantage to their male and/or childless peers, as they struggle to balance the vagaries of academic life with the demands of biology, reproduction, and offspring. Women who choose to embrace both halves of this divide – the body and the brain – often find themselves caught between the demands of their families and the demands of the academy.

We are looking for essays from women who have faced, in any way, the challenges of raising or considering a family within an academic setting. We wish to hear stories from students, professors, and adjunct faculty, writing about their experiences having children, delaying children, or choosing not to have children at all. We are seeking essays about how women's positions in the academy have influenced their decisions about mothering, and how their positions as potential mothers, in turn, have impacted their academic careers.

Editors: Caroline Grant and Elrena Evans

Deadline: August 30, 2006

Length: 1,500 to 4,000 words. Feel free to query first; complete essays also welcome.

Format: Essays must be typed, double-spaced, and paginated. Please include your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and a short bio on the last page.

Submitting: Send essays saved as a Word or Rich Text Format file (with .doc or .rtf extension) to submissions@mamaphd.com. Put “Submission” in the subject line.