Reflections on our first joint event with the University of Sheffield Parent Network

In July we held our first joint event with the University of Sheffield’s Parent Network entitled “Professor or parent? Lecturer or Carer? How to balance an academic career with parenting and caring”. With the combined focus of the two networks we wanted to bring together staff from across both universities to talk about the challenges (and benefits!) of careers in academia for parents and carers.

After a short talk delivered by Sheffield Hallam’s Professor Peter Prowse about his research into work-life balance and his own experiences as a father, the panel of six members of academic staff from both universities talked about their very different experiences of parenting and caring alongside their academic careers and then took questions from the room. It was great to hear stories from such a wide range of career stages, subject areas and from a balance of male and female staff. Whilst it seems like there are still challenges to overcome and there is more that our universities can do to truly support staff who are parents or carers to reach their full potential, as one audience member said “Although not all experiences were always positive I do feel optimistic that culture is (slowly) changing for the better”.

The focus of discussions centred on juggling parenting whilst progressing as an Academic, and we heard from some of the people who attended the event that they would like similar events in future with a focus on caring, juggling parenting of older children or teenagers, and broader perspectives beyond Academic careers, such as hearing from Professional Services staff. If there is anything else you would like the Parent & Carers Network to focus on for future events let us know at the SHU Parent & Carer Network mailbox – it’s always great to hear from you!