The disappearing research agendas of mother‐scholars in academia during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Autoethnographic studies

ABSTRACT

It is not new for mother‐scholars to face challenges in balancing work and life demands;however, the COVID‐19 pandemic has redefined the meaning of mother‐scholars as they maneuver working from home, caring for their dependents, and maintaining their research productivity. The following manuscript is a collection of autoethnographic studies of the experiences of four women of differing ranks in the academy pre‐tenure, mid‐career, and late‐career. What they all have in common is caregiving responsibilities that abruptly derailed their research agendas when the pandemic interrupted their lives.