Motherhood, Academic Precarity, and the Gendered Politics of Research Productivity

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 10, October 2026 | pp. 379–392

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001342

Article Type: Research Article

Title: Motherhood, Academic Precarity, and the Gendered Politics of Research Productivity

Names of Author: Nneka Okonkwo¹ & Sophie Moreau-Laurent²

Author's Affiliation: ¹Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria; ²Department of Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.

Abstract:
Neoliberal metrics of academic excellence—measured through rapid publication output, international conference mobility, and continuous grant acquisition—systematically disadvantage early-career mothers in higher education. Inadequate institutional childcare facilities, short maternity leave policies, and stigmatization of caregiving responsibilities force many female academics onto precarious adjunct contracts or slow their progression toward tenured professorships. Furthermore, funding agencies rarely adjust age-based grant eligibility criteria to account for career interruptions caused by childbearing and eldercare. This paper examines how academic mothers negotiate institutional precarity and research productivity expectations in Nigerian and Swiss universities. Grounded in feminist organizational theory and sociology of work, the study analyzes narrative interviews with 36 female lecturers and postdoctoral researchers. We advocate for care-inclusive tenure clocks, subsidized on-campus childcare, and flexible remote-fellowship models to retain women in academia.

Keywords: Academic motherhood, research productivity, higher education, workplace precarity, feminist organizational theory, work-life balance, Nigeria, Switzerland

Manuscript Timeline: Received: September 13, 2026; Revised: October 13, 2026; Accepted: October 17, 2026; Published: October 15, 2026.

Citation: Okonkwo, N., & Moreau-Laurent, S. (2026). Motherhood, Academic Precarity, and the Gendered Politics of Research Productivity. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(10), 379–392. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001342

Subscribe to read the full article: https://www.internationalscholarsjournals.org/subscribe-to-read