Scientists want more children.

Area of Science:

• Academic Science
• Sociology of Science
• Career Development

Background:

• Limited understanding of how academic science careers affect family life for men and women at different career stages.
• Lack of data on perceptions of this impact among junior and senior scientists at top research universities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between the science career, family life, and life/career satisfaction among science faculty.
• To examine the influence of having fewer children than desired on scientists' career plans and satisfaction.
• To explore gender differences in these perceptions and experiences, particularly among early-career scientists.

Main Methods:

• Survey of junior and senior scientists at top universities.
• Analysis of the impact of desired vs. actual number of children on life and career satisfaction.
• Examination of career intentions (e.g., plans to exit science) based on family life impact.

Main Results:

• Fewer children than wished negatively impacts life satisfaction for science faculty, indirectly affecting career satisfaction.
• Early-career scientists (graduate students, postdocs) with fewer children than wished are more likely to plan to leave science.
• The negative impact on life satisfaction from having fewer children than desired is more pronounced for male faculty than female faculty.
• Gender differences in the desire to leave science disappear among graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

Conclusions:

• Family factors significantly impede talented young scientists of both genders from pursuing research careers in academic science.
• The science career's impact on family life is a critical factor influencing retention in science, affecting both men and women.
• Findings can inform university policies on family leave and mentoring programs to improve retention in STEM fields.