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Yes. I really wonder if it is possible to achieve tenure while taking care of your kids. When I was a PhD student, I asked everyone about this, but I could fin

Yes. I really wonder if it is possible to achieve tenure while taking care of your kids. When I was a PhD student, I asked everyone about this, but I could find no role model. Almost every male professor had a stay-at-home wife who cared for the kids, and female professors often had no kids. Even with my fellow PhD students who became parents, it was always the mothers who took extended maternity leave, and the fathers who advanced their careers. (I eventually gave up the PhD programme; as a self-employed software developer I now have the freedom to take as much time for my kids as I want, and I can take an equal part in caring for them.)

MagerValp 11y ago
It is here (Sweden), and I think the two most important factors are: 1. Paternity leave 2. Child care facilities Paternity leave is important to break the stereotype that mothers are the ones who have to sacrifice their careers to stay at home and care for the family. Widely available child care allow both parents to work as much as they need. Anecdotal evidence from the senior staff I know here at the University says that male professors don't have stay-at-home wives, and female professors have kids (with no noticeable difference compared to the rest of society).