Invisible Sportswomen 4.0—“Everyone Will Know You’re a Mum, It’s Part of Your Resume”: A Mixed-Methods Cross-Sectional Study Exploring the Impact of Family on Women’s Experiences in Exercise and Sport Science Academia

Background: Although gender parity exists at the PhD level within exercise and sport science academia, there is a lack of women in senior leadership roles. This global, mixed-methods study, conducted in 2024, aimed to (a) investigate the specific challenges women face related to family and home responsibilities and (b) examine the demographic characteristics of women working in exercise and sport science academia. Methods: As part of a larger project, participants completed an online survey and follow-up focus groups. This study specifically reports on data from 36 survey items that focused on childcare responsibilities, division of household labor, career concessions, and perceived impact of family on career progression. Focus groups provided deeper insight into these topics. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, group comparisons, and reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Three hundred and forty one participants completed the online survey and 37 participated across 10 focus groups. Three themes were generated from the mixed-methods data: (a) (in)visibility of women, characterized by the perceived hypervisibility of women during pregnancy and their invisibility during postpartum; (b) denial or survival of the internal pressure to manage professional and family responsibilities; (c) assumption that Woman = Mother reflecting the common social perception that all women want to be mothers, and those that do not have child caring responsibilities can be called on during nontraditional working times. Conclusion: Findings suggest that women still face family-related challenges in exercise and sport science academia that hinder their career progression.

https://doi.org/10.1123/wspaj.2024-0122