Perceiving Departmental-Level Partner Accommodation Stigma among Faculty: The Influence of Academic Discipline

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Abstract

Academic dual-career couples are on the rise due mainly to significant increases in the number of women earning doctorates. In order to increase the likelihood of hiring their first-choice candidate higher education institutions have implemented partner accommodation policies and programs. However, accommodated faculty members may face partner accommodation stigma or PAS as violators of the “ideal” job candidate. Our paper addresses a research question that investigates this stigma by asking: What individual and institutional level factors are associated with individual faculty members’ perception of partner accommodation stigma (PAS)? We address our research question using survey data from faculty at seven U.S. universities. Findings indicate that men—but not women—in STEM fields perceive greater departmental-level PAS than men outside of STEM but that being part of a dual-career couple at the time of hire is unrelated to perceive PAS for women and men. Parents perceive less PAS stigma in their department than non-parents and both career satisfaction and formal university-level accommodation policies for partners are associated with lower perceived PAS among women, but not men. We discuss implications for findings for the recruitment and retention of women in STEM fields.

Authors

• Tori C Byington, Washington State University

• Julie A. Kmec, Washington State University