Galit Lahav, Mol. Cell 2010 May 28;38(4):477-80.

Abstract: This article is for women who ask whether it is possible to combine motherhood with academia and still be successful and happy. It is also for those working with, bosses of, or married to such women, giving them a better feel for the challenges mothers in academia face, and the strategies that can be used to survive and thrive in both of these worlds.

Julia Leventon, Katy Roelich and Lucie Middlemiss.

Nature Career column, 14 January 2019

Summary: There are many ways to create an inclusive workplace, say Julia Leventon, Katy Roelich and Lucie Middlemiss.

Blog article, Researcher.life, Mary Oommen

Exerpt: “For most academic parents, the problem arises when the pressure of research work conflicts with having to make time for the family. Not being able to balance the two creates not just a feeling of inadequacy as far as work is concerned but also a deep sense of parenting guilt. Here are some practical suggestions that organizations and institutions can adopt to improve the situation for academic parents and make it easier for them (especially women) to stay on and thrive in academia.”

Eva O.L. Lantsoght, Yvonne Tse Crepaldi, Silvia G. Tavares, Kathleen Leemans, and E.W. Misty Paig-Tran

Partial abstract: In this article we explore the work-related challenges and opportunities experienced by academic parents as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and offer potential long-term solutions for academic parents and their universities.

Nature Careers, Working Life

Virginia Zarulli, April 8, 2021

Excerpt: I realize now how unprepared I was to navigate such an immense personal and professional transition, especially on my first leave. As any parent knows, it's impossible to truly understand what having a child is like until it happens—which makes it awfully difficult to prepare for. I wish my institution had offered more resources and structured support, rather than leaving me to my own devices to plan for something so life-changing.

Allison C. Morgan, Samuel F. Way, Michael J.D. Hoefer, Daniel B. Larremore, Mirta Calesic, and Aaron Clauset

Science Advances, February 24, 2021

Partial Abstract: “Women report that paid parental leave and adequate childcare are important factors in their recruitment and retention. These results have broad implications for efforts to improve the inclusiveness of scholarship.”

Information on parental leave for NRSA fellows, funding to defray childcare costs, career development awards, supplements to support re-entry into the workforce, administrative supplements to promote research continuity and retention, opportunities to describe delays in scientific productivity, and extensions of ESI eligibility.

Description of parental leave policies at Washington University. A separate policy exists for postdoctoral fellows, which is also linked in this page.

ASCB offers travel and childcare grants to help ASCB members attend the ASCB/EMBO Meeting. For ASCB members, variable awards depending on familycare needs.

The ASBMB is accepting applications for grant support to help offset the cost of dependent care to enable members to present their research at #DiscoverBMB. The ASBMB Dependent-Care Grant is a reimbursable allowance of up to $1,000 toward one of the eligible scenarios detailed below.