Work-Life Balance Issues Among Full-time Women Faculty

ABSTRACT Problems exist with work-life balance (WLB) issues among women who must attempt to balance time and attention for themselves (spirit/self), family, and work. At the same time, women often deal with inequality and discrimination issues in the workplace. Collectively, these factors can lead to health-related issues, including anxiety and excessive stress. This scenario is equally applicable to women who are fulltime faculty members at higher education institutions. The 2020 census reported that mostly all job losses are lost by women. According to the American Association of University Professors, only 33 percent of women are full professors. Additionally, the racial and ethnic composition of faculty does not completely mirror the United States population. Five self-identified women that are full-time faculty members currently hold (or held) leadership positions at various levels participated in this study. Utilizing a semi-structured interview format, each participant was asked four broad open-ended questions related to work-life balance to include additional follow up questions that were prompted by their responses. These questions allowed me to analyze their unique experiences and understand their perspectives. During this process, six common themes emerged from the data. A basic qualitative research design incorporating the interview method was used for this study. Merriam and Tisdale (2016) describe this design as “the most utilized qualitative approach over time and across disciplines.” WLB is a very complicated issue. As a result, there are multiple working theories specifically for work-life balance; a single theory was not used to conduct this study. Finally, this research study provided a historical timeline of significant events to establish a clearer understanding of factors that impact work-life balance issues affecting American women today. It is imperative that all women become aware of their work-life balance status and make necessary adjustments to prevent irreparable consequences. The information gained from this study provides opportunities for further research concerning WLB issues and concerns.

INDEX WORDS: Work-life balance, higher education institutions, academia, full-time female faculty, labor participation