2011/08/15 by Mary Frank Fox, Carolyn Fonseca, Jinghui Bao · 4 citations
Social Sciences · Psychology · #Work-Family Balance Challenges #Gender Diversity and Inequality #Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies
paper · doi:10.1177/0306312711417730
openalex publication_date 2011/08/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
This article addresses work-family conflict as reported among women and men academic scientists in data systematically collected across fields of study in nine US research universities. Arguing that academic science is a particularly revealing case for studying work-family conflict, the article addresses: (1) the bi-directional conflict of work with family, and family with work, reported among the scientists; (2) the ways that higher, compared with lower, conflict, is predicted by key features of family, academic rank, and departments/institutions; and (3) patterns and predictors of work-family conflict that vary, as well as converge, by gender. Results point to notable differences, and commonalties, by gender, in factors affecting interference in both directions of work-family conflict reported by scientists. These findings have implications for understandings of how marriage and children, senior compared with junior academic rank, and departmental climates shape work-family conflict among women and men in US academic science.