UCL School of Management is delighted to welcome Professor Jun Li, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, to host a research seminar discussing: Childcare Deserts Impede Scientists’ Career Development.

Abstract:

For decades, the United States grappled with a childcare shortage that has left American families struggling to secure quality care, compromising both children’s development and parental career progress. Here I investigate the impact of childcare availability—and the lack thereof—on US scientists’ career advancement and gender equity in science. I construct a longitudinal database of childcare facilities and their capacities spanning the last twenty years. Leveraging the biennial survey of US scientists and engineers sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), I uncover that over half of US scientists employed at universities and research institutions work in childcare deserts, that is, areas where the supply of childcare falls significantly short of demand. Despite similar exposure to childcare deserts, the career consequences for male and female scientists differ starkly. Women scientists with young children (under six years old within the first six years post PhD) are 5.2 percentage points less likely to achieve tenure in childcare deserts, while no significant association is observed for men with young children on average. Meanwhile, I observe no association between childcare deserts and tenure outcomes for scientists without children, regardless of gender.  While reduced available work time partly explains this disparity, there are likely other factors, such as increased fatigue and frequent work disruptions, that could also contribute. Overall, these findings highlight the critical role of expanding childcare availability to enhance research productivity and to reduce the tenure gender gap in science.