Precarity of post doctorate career breaks: does gender matter?

Figures & data

Table 1. Sample characteristics.

Variable	N (%)
Gender
Female	609 (64.6)
Male	332 (35.2)
Other	1 (.1)
Age
25–34	448 (47.4)
35–44	342 (36.2)
45–54	107 (11.3)
55 & over	38 (4.0)
Prefer not to say	10 (1.1)
Country of residence
UK	668 (70.3)
Europe (excluding UK)	181(19.1)
North America and Caribbean	38 (4.0)
Australasia	23 (2.4)
Asia	22 (2.3)
Middle East	8 (.8)
Africa	6 (.6)
South America	4 (.4)
Current/Previous Role
Research role	737 (77.7)
Teaching and research role	138 (14.5)
Other (e.g. administration, research support)	48 (5.1)
Teaching role	26 (2.7)

Table 2. Career break status.

Taken a career break?	N (%)
Currently on a career break	179 (18.8)
Taken a career break but not currently on one	270 (28.4)
Sub-total	449 (47.2)
Considered a career break but have not taken one	251 (26.4)
Not considered a career break	246 (25.8)
Sub-total	497 (52.5)

Table 3. EFA Pattern matrix.

Items	Factor
	1	2
Perceptions of CB – ability to run funded projects	.863
Perceptions of CB – ability to bid for funding	.839
Ability to supervise students	.838
Ability to teach	.759
Ability to publish	.747
Ability to attend conferences	.739
Ability to keep up with field	.659
Future employment, salary and promotion opportunities	.620
Colleagues’ perceptions of them	.571
Mental health and wellbeing		.895
Work/life balance		.876
Confidence in own abilities		.674

Extraction method: Principal Component Analysis.

Rotation method: Oblimin with Kaiser Normalization.

Table 4. Main reason for most recent career break.

	N (%)
Maternity leave	157 (35.0)
End of fixed term contract/redundancy	127 (28.3)
Carer responsibilities (for children, partner, parent, or other family)	46 (10.2)
Family reasons (for example, partner's job moving location)	32 (7.1)
Other	25 (5.6)
Health reasons	21 (4.7)
Personal development	16 (3.6)
Travel	13 (2.9)
Paternity leave	8 (1.8)
Voluntary work	4 (.9)

Table 5. Employer support before and after career break.

Support prior to career break	N (%)
Very/satisfied	122 (27)
Neutral	168 (38)
Very/dissatisfied	157 (35)
Support surrounding return to work
Very/satisfied	126 (47)
Neutral	103 (38)
Very/dissatisfied	39 (15)

Table 6. Duration of career break and return to work.

Duration of career break	N (%)
1–3 months	28 (10)
4–6 months	49 (18)
7–11 months	72 (27)
1–2 years	68 (25)
3–4 years	17 (6)
5–10 years	30 (11)
Over 10 years	6 (2)
Returned to work with
Different employer	142 (53)
Same employer	127 (47)
Returned
Full time	149 (56)
Part time	119 (44)

Table 7. One-way ANOVA means and standard deviations across postdoc groups.

	Postdoc Groups (Gp)	n	Mean	SD
Factor 1	Gp1. Currently had CB	151	32.81	7.32
	Gp2. Previously had CB	209	29.11	7.31
	Gp3. Never had CB	403	32.15	5.45
Factor 2	Gp1. Currently had CB	176	8.33	2.96
	Gp2. Previously had CB	268	8.43	3.07
	Gp3. Never had CB	455	6.67	2.09

*Lower means indicate more positive view.

Table 8. Post hoc comparisons between postdoc groups.

	Postdoc groups (Gp)	Mean difference	SE	P
Factor 1	Gp1 v Gp2	3.69*	.78	<.001
	Gp2 v Gp3	−3.04*	.57	<.001
	Gp3 v Gp1	.66	.65	.576
Factor 2	Gp1 v Gp2	.10	.29	.942
	Gp2 v Gp3	1.75*	.21	<.001
	Gp3 v Gp1	1.65*	.24	<.001

Table 9. Reasons for not taking a career break.

Variable	N (%)
Not financially viable	156 (62)
Concerned about how it would look to future employers	148 (59)
Don’t feel confident about being able to return to same job	135 (54)
Would limit ability to carry out research, publish, supervise	128 (51)
Worried about losing touch with colleagues and peers	64 (25)
Concerned about how it would look to colleagues	60 (24)
No sufficiently attractive opportunity	55 (22)