The event featured Rahel More and Astrid Wirth, founders of Motherhood & Science Austria, alongside researchers and parents from different disciplines.

Parenthood brings unique hurdles to academic careers, but also new perspectives, resilience, and opportunities to rethink how institutions support their staff.

Invisible Barriers and the Motherhood Penalty

Research presented by Astrid Wirth highlighted how structural biases shape academic careers:

• Maternal wall bias: Mothers are often perceived as less competent or less committed, despite evidence to the contrary.
• Motherhood penalty: Most of Austria’s gender pay gap is in fact a motherhood pay gap, reflecting reduced hours, parental leave, and fewer promotions.
• Fatherhood bonus: In contrast, men may even benefit professionally from becoming fathers.

Academic structures intensify these inequalities: short-term contracts, mobility requirements, and publication pressure collide with the very years when many researchers start families.

Why Networks Matter

Rahel More emphasized the importance of visibility and community. Inspired by the German network Mutterschaft und Wissenschaft, Motherhood & Science Austria connects parents in research through local groups in Vienna, Graz, Innsbruck, and Linz.

The network promotes:

• Inclusive definitions of motherhood (focusing on care responsibilities, not biology alone).
• Cross-university exchanges with family services to evaluate “what works and what doesn’t.”
• Advocacy for structural change so parenthood is not seen as an individual challenge but a shared institutional responsibility.

Life in Practice: What Parents Shared

The panel discussion revealed both struggles and strategies:

• Timing: There is no “perfect” academic moment to have a child. The best time is when family life is ready.
• Boundaries: Protect childcare hours; say “no” more often; make caregiving needs visible in schedules.
• Flexibility: Academia allows for task-shifting — for example, trading lab steps with colleagues and focusing on writing or reviewing from home.
• Returning after leave: This phase is emotionally and physically demanding. Few policies exist by default, so parents must actively ask for flexibility and support.
• Support systems: Equal care by partners and accessible childcare are decisive in making careers sustainable.

What Needs to Change

The discussion made clear that individual coping strategies are not enough. Institutions must adapt. Suggested measures include:

• Scheduling norms: Meetings within 10:00–16:00, hybrid by default.
• Return-to-work support: Reduced teaching/admin in the first semester after parental leave; funding for research assistants to cover lab work.
• Childcare provisions: Guaranteed slots, emergency childcare, and financial support for conference childcare.
• Transparency: A one-stop portal for all parent-related services and funding opportunities.
• Evaluation reform: Committees must recognize career breaks and prorate achievements accordingly.

Key Takeaways

1. Parenthood in academia is not an individual weakness but a structural test of how inclusive institutions really are.
2. Networks empower change by making challenges visible and creating collective voices.
3. Equal care partnerships and supportive teams are crucial to sustaining careers.
4. To retain talent and diversity, academia must redesign policies around parents, not against them.

Get Involved

Interested in connecting with others or supporting change?

• Join Motherhood & Science Austria and its local groups (Vienna, Graz, Innsbruck, Linz).
• Explore university family services and share your feedback.
• Start conversations in your department — visibility is the first step to change.

The Experts

Rahel More is a postdoctoral researcher in educational science and PI of 2 third-party funded projects, based at both – the University of Vienna and at the University of Graz. Her research focuses on social pedagogy, inclusion and dis/ability. She is also a mum to three children aged 5, 10 and 11.

Astrid Wirth is a psychologist and tenure-track professor of early childhood education at the Institute of Education. She’s the mother of a 3-year-old daughter who has already attended numerous lectures, faculty meetings and conferences.

Laura Maggini has been a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Vienna since 2020. She leads research on developing novel manufacturing platforms and scaling up production processes for functional organic supramolecular materials. She is also in the process of founding a spin-off and is strongly engaged in technology transfer, with a passion for bridging the gap between academic research and industry.

Niko Paresh Amin-Wetzel is a postdoc in cell and molecular biology at ISTA for about five years, and father to a 4-year-old daughter.

Alexey Cherevan is an Assistant Professor in chemistry at TU Wien, who became a parent during his postdoc stage and received his tenure-track position two years ago. He has a 4.5-year-old child and calls himself a dedicated father who is trying to actively invest a lot of time and effort into childcare.