The issue under investigation is related to problems female academics face after returning from maternity leave. The current statistics evidence the fact that in the UK the given question preserves the high priority as the majority of women has multiple difficulties in regaining momentum in their academic careers after giving birth to children (Akram & Young, 2020). In numerous cases, they find themselves in weaker positions than male professors who benefit from the absence of these challenges or their decreased importance for them. The given situation remains unacceptable regarding the focus on the creation of a tolerant society and the promotion of equality in all spheres of human activity, including the academic one. For this reason, it is vital to investigate the problem and collect data about the possible causes of the given undesired tendency or barriers preventing women from building a successful academic career after their maternity leave. It is expected that findings will contribute to the enhanced vision of the problem and the creation of practical solutions that will help to improve the situation.
Research Question
Regarding the problem outlined above, the following research question should be formulated:
What are the primary barriers limiting female academics in their attempts to regain momentum in their careers and succeed?
The introduction of this research question is justified by several aspects. First, the understanding of the root causes of some problem is vital for its successful resolution. For this reason, the in-depth and comprehensive analysis of existing challenges will contribute to the establishment of a theoretical framework beneficial for the following discussion and conclusion. Second, the given research question outlines the direction of the project and investigation as it becomes vital to collect primary data about the basic difficulties from female academics and conclude about their current states.
Objectives
The research question offered above also preconditions the introduction of the following goals:
- to analyse the current position of female professors and academics in the UK
- to outline basic vulnerabilities associated with women working in this sector
- to collect primary data about barriers preventing females from successful career building after their maternity leaves
- to create the list of major causes for the emergence of the discussed problem
- to structure and discuss findings to develop the basis for future research
The following goals will guarantee that the correlation between maternity leaves and academic successes of women will be investigated from different perspectives. Additionally, the creation of the list of the most common causes for the appearance of this sort of issues will help to select the most appropriate solution and increase the practical utility of the project.
Methodology
The nature of the issue under investigation and its scope presuppose the employment of qualitative research design. This choice comes from the following considerations. First of all, it is a flexible approach that becomes less dependent on numbers and statistical data (Creswell & Poth, 2017). The lack of information related to the discussed question means that there is a need for credible data that can help to conclude about the real situation in the UK, and qualitative methods are a sufficient tool to accomplish this task. Additionally, the character of the topic means that there is a need for personal data related to returns after maternity leaves and problems females face when they try to come back to work (Patton, 2014). Under these conditions, the qualitative paradigm becomes an appropriate choice as it helps to collect relevant and unbiased data related to the aspect under interest.
Data Collection
The research question mentioned above demands a definition of leading barriers female academics experience at the moment. For this reason, the survey should be used as the primary data collection tool. The main advantage of this method is the ability to acquire relevant, up-to-date and personal data provided by direct participants of a process under investigation (Fowler, 2013). It means that women who experience problems with adjusting back into academic life after the maternity leave should provide information about their cases by participating in the survey and filling the form offered to them. It will help to create the basis for the following discussion and, at the same time, guarantee the increased credibility of findings as all information will come from primary sources (Ravitch & Carl, 2015). Another advantage of the method is that surveys can be easily distributed potential participants via e-mails, which can help to save time.
Sampling
Participants of the research should be selected by employing non-probability, purposive sampling. Because of the research question, it is vital to ensure that only women after maternity leave will participate in the study and provide their experience and vision of barriers that prevent them from building successful careers. For this reason, the given approach is utilised to avoid biased data and acquire information need to follow the objectives and conduct the in-depth analysis of the issue (Thompson, 2012). In such a way, it is planned to involve 100 female academics returning from maternity leave and distribute surveys among them. The participation should be voluntary, and all individuals should be guarantee anonymity and confidentiality of personal data. Additionally, they should be provided with an opportunity to leave the project at any stage or prohibit to use their personal data.
Limitations
It is also critical to consider the limitations of the qualitative research paradigm to avoid failures or the use of biased data. First of all, it is difficult to verify data provided by participants as they are free to offer their view on the issue which can be subjective or different from the accepted one (Maxwell, 2013). Second, data collection and processing might demand a significant amount of time as there is a need to consider all information provided by participants (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). Third, it is difficult to trace changes in real-time by using surveys as they will represent data related to a period of their completion (Ruel et al., 2015). In such a way, consideration of all these barriers is vital for the research.
Findings
It is expected that the findings acquired due to the given project will contribute to the emergence of positive changes in the sphere. The improved vision of the basic barriers preventing female academics from their success and creation of their list will help to initiative debates about this question. Additionally, the better understanding of the root causes of some undesired tendency supported by personal data is vital for the initiation of the change process and elimination of difficulties by offering new solutions (Yin, 2015). For this reason, it is believed that the project is critically important for women who return after the maternity leave and become unable to compete with males holding advantageous position due to the decreased topicality of such aspects for them. The results will also create the basis for future investigation of this problem.
References
Akram, S., & Young, Z. (2020). Early career researchers’ experiences of post-maternity and parental leave provision in UK Politics and International Studies Departments: A heads of department and early career researcher survey. Political Studies Review.
Creswell, J., & Poth, C. (2017) Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among the five approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
Fowler, F. (2013). Survey research methods (5th ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
Maxwell, J. (2013). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach. (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
Merriam, S., & Tisdell, E. (2015). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation (4th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Patton, M. (2014). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
Ravitch, S., & Carl, N. (2015). Qualitative research: Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological. SAGE Publications, Inc.
Ruel, E., William, W., & Gillespie, B. (2015). The practice of survey research: Theory and applications. SAGE Publications, Inc.
Thompson, S. (2012). Sampling (3rd ed.). Wiley.
Yin, R. (2015). Qualitative research from start to finish (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press.