Navigating a PhD and parenthood?

PALLAVEE Srivastava, a post-doctoral fellow at Cardiff University in Wales in the UK, plans her lab work to ensure that she picks up her son from playschool on time.

The microbiologist is working on metal-microbe interaction to isolate microbes in sludges that can clean up the environment.

“My guide (PhD supervisor) and colleagues understand that I have the responsibility of a 6-year-old child. We plan our meetings accordingly,” said the single mom.

Back at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Goa, her faculty members and PhD supervisor provided an enabling environment during her pregnancy.

“When I got back after maternity leave, my guide provided me with a room to express breast milk and allowed me to store it in her refrigerator. She gave me the confidence that I can be both a good scientist and mother, that I do not have to pause one to be the other,” said Srivastava.

Like her, several women pursuing research have to balance PhD/post-doctoral research and parenting. How successful they are rests heavily on enabling institutional systems, social/familial support and gender-sensitive policies.

It was not smooth sailing for Madhulika Kushwaha, 34, who is a PhD student in environmental sciences. Her first child was born in 2018, in the fourth year of her doctoral studies at the Central University of Himachal Pradesh, in Dharamshala, India. Kushwaha availed herself of the University Grants Commission-mandated eightmonth maternity leave.

“A PhD is challenging work, and it gets even more so with a pregnancy,” said Kushwaha, whose second baby arrived after her thesis submission.

Coming from Uttar Pradesh, she lacked family support in Dharamshala.

“I took a break after the PhD to be around my toddlers,” said Kushwaha, who plans to apply for the local Department of Science and Technology (DST) fellowship schemes for women.

Hema Banagere Prakash, 37, a post-doctoral fellow at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru, applied for the DST Women Scientists programme to get back to research in observational astrophysics, after childcare responsibilities, post-partum setbacks, sudden loss of a parent and the Covid-19 lockdown dashed her chances as a post-doctoral research fellowship in California.

Coming from rural Karnataka, she studied in government schools and pursued her passion for astronomy with her father’s support and encouragement.

“I have invested 15 years in research. However, I’m not sure what will happen after the three-year Women Scientist fellowship. Unless I get a faculty position that ensures a dedicated lab and research support, the uncertainty will continue,” she said.

The stories of these three scientists illustrate some of the challenges women face in pursuing research while raising children.

Supportive structures exist, but they offer ad-hoc support and fall short of ensuring sustained growth of career, financial security, and the independence and investment that good science demands. As a result, several quit research to take up industry jobs.

Number crunching

According to the All India Survey on Higher Education 2019-20, women comprised 49% of the total enrolment in higher education in all disciplines. Of this, 0.5% took up doctoral studies. Of the total PhD level degrees awarded in the year, around 44% (all disciplines) went to women.

A closer look at the data showed maths had 63.9% female students at the postgraduate level, which dropped to 45% at doctorate level. Chemistry, which saw the highest number of PhD registrations in sciences, had 57.6% female students for post-graduation studies and 42% for PhD.

The situation is even more stark in engineering and technology, which has 70.8% male and 29.2% female students at the undergraduate level. The Institutes of National Importance (largely science and tech) that contributed to 23% of the doctorates, had the lowest male-to-female ratio among students. Moreover, in faculty positions, there were only 18 women for every 100 men. This has a direct bearing on the proportion of women in hiring committees and other decision-making roles.

In August 2021, the government informed the Lok Sabha (Parliament of India) that only 16.6% of those involved in scientific research in India are women.

“Getting an academic job that allows a scientist to continue research work is a huge effort,” says Professor Mousumi Das, a physicist and faculty member at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.

“In many cases, we see that women who are able to climb the academic ladder, finish their PhDs, do a post-doc, preferably abroad, and get a faculty position on returning, are without kids.”

Women Scientists Programme

The DST’s Women Scientists Programmes acknowledge the barriers and break in career that women may face due to marriage, migration, pregnancy and other challenges typical to the gender. They offer three categories of fellowships in the 27 to 57 age group for pursuing post-doctoral studies after facing a career break.

Women involved in research in frontier areas of science and technology can apply for a three-year fellowship, which can be availed any number of times. It is competitive and has strict eligibility and selection criteria.

Women scientists say that while it offers a stopgap arrangement to continue research, the scheme does not factor in growth in career and financial remuneration commensurate with seniority and experience, as all awardees get a fellowship amount of nearly Rs 55 000 (about R12 344) a month.

The total project cost of Rs 30 lakh (R673 323) accounts for small equipment, contingencies and consumables. However, research also requires investing in a dedicated lab and equipment, which is not possible with this fellowship.

Moitreyi Banerjee, who worked on cell culture-based molecular biology at the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, is a DS Kothari post-doc fellow at Goa University's biotech department. She became a mother during her PhD, and is presently pursuing her second post-doctoral research.

'Gap years' and challenges

If a new mother chooses to take a break, the discontinuity and ensuing “gap” in research and publication of papers can have a lasting impact on her career. Faculty appointments are a direct reflection of successful doctoral and post-doctoral opportunities.

AK Chaturvedi, a former director at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee – a technical university located in Roorkee, Uttarakhand – said a few criteria/conditions in hiring or selections for awards should be relaxed for women.

During 2017 to 2018, Chaturvedi was instrumental in removing timing restrictions for female students at IIT Roorkee campus, thus making all facilities accessible 24/7, just like their male counterparts.

She completed her PhD 27 years ago, while carrying her baby to full term, but the real challenge was finding a way to continue her research after. The post-doctoral researchers she now mentors, continue to face similar challenges.

Societal biases

In a positive move, in December 2021, the University Grants Commission in India announced one-time maternity/ child care leave for women for up to 240 days in the entire duration of the Master of Philosophy degree/PhD. However, springing back to work is not always easy.

Gender parity

Acknowledging the need for gender advancement in Stem (an approach to learning and development that integrates the areas of science, technology, engineering and maths) at the institutional level, India’s Department of Science and Technology launched the Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (Gati) pilot in 2020/21.

The Gati charter makes it a moral imperative for all institutions to provide equal opportunity at all levels, by way of policy, practice, action plans and by promoting a culture for change.

It is the Indian equivalent of the Athena Swan Charter, a framework used globally to support inclusion, diversity and equity within higher education and research.