Dr. Elizabeth G. Creamer, Associate Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

1. When P & T Policies Become Work-Life Issues: Early Career Experiences of Co-Working Academic Couples Dr. Elizabeth G. Creamer, Associate Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Virginia Tech (creamere@vt.edu) AAHE 2004 Symposium, Enhancing Understanding of Faculty Roles and Worklives: Research on Organizational Contexts and Gender Equity April 3, 2004 San Diego, CA* *Overheads and reference list are available on my web site: https://dav.filebox.vt.edu/users/creamere/egchome/

2. Status of Academic Couples • Of the approximately 82% of faculty men and 62% of faculty women who are married, 35% of men and 40% of women have a spouse/partner who is also an academic (Astin & Milem, 1997). In a recent survey of faculty, the ADVANCE team at Georgia Tech found that faculty women in science and engineering are three times more likely than men to have a spouse/partner who is a college or university professor (Fox, 2004). • Of 262 respondents to a 1996 survey, 64% had given or received feedback from a spouse/partner about a draft publication; 22% had co-authored a scholarly publication (Creamer, 2001).

3. Context from the Literature • Astin and Milem (1997) concluded positive impact of an academic partner on women’s productivity reflected contribution of a spouse to domestic labor. • Xie and Shauman (1998) concluded from the analysis of four national databases about postsecondary faculty produced between 1969 and 1983 that in terms of publishing productivity men and women benefit equally from the high human capital of a spouse who tends to be highly educated.

4. Purpose • To examine the early career experiences of nine co-working academic couples that entered faculty careers in the 1970s and 1980s as they negotiated the decision to enter in a committed relationship, to pursue a faculty career, and to establish a scholarly identity.

5. 9 pairs (N=17) 2 PHD cohorts (largely early 1970s and early 1980s) All but one in the same discipline. All but one career-comparable (both hold faculty positions). 4 of 9 have children All now in senior faculty positions at research universities. Sample

6. Deeply shared intellectual interests Work-centered lives “I wonder if in part you have some people who were naturally compulsively motivated to produce and, so, perhaps, my finding a mate who also had the same tendencies, it made it easier for them to keep doing that because they had a mate who wasn’t constantly after them to stop.”(Opal, Communication Studies) The Attraction

7. “Keep it equal” or Take turns sacrificing “There was an element of competition. Also in that we knew that if we wanted to move on in our careers, we were going to have to stay close to each other in terms of our level of visibility and productivity. We didn’t want to have the feeling of one person tagging along after the other.” (Roxanne, one of a pair of psychologists) The Compact

8. At tenure - Roxanne (1990) 7/15 Stuart (1989) 4/17 At promotion Roxanne (1993) 30/56 Stuart (1993) 30/57 An Example: “Keeping it Equal” for 10 Years Number of publications coauthored with partner of total

9. The Compact Meets the Ethic of Individualism • “We were sensitive of that from the beginning and knew we needed to establish beyond a shadow of doubt that each of us had an independent line of research we were identified with.” Roger, Psychology • “For me, personally, it was critical that I establish an area independent of him because he was a couple of years further along.” Roxanne, Psychology • “I think they thought one of us was carrying the other.”Melanie, Special Education • “[There is this assumption] that when you publish with your spouse that typically only one of you is doing the writing and adding the other person.” Alex, Special Education • “There was a lot of uneasiness there that they would be able to distinguish who did what and so it was quite a systematic process that we didn’t work together.” Anna, Psychology

10. Downplay the relationship “In 1983, you didn’t have a spouse. You could live in sin, but you couldn’t have a spouse.” Sally, Geology (in 1973) “It was a deliberate decision on my part. It is not that we lied about it; it is just that we chose to keep quiet about it.” Roger, Psychology Strategies to Establish Intellectual Autonomy

11. Re-direct a research agenda “I think one of the reasons I moved away from [the topic of her dissertation], in fact which is what I did my early work in, was because I wanted to be in a different domain. I didn’t want (hesitation), not just for practical reasons, such as people might not give me credit for my work, but because I didn’t want to be the clone or little sister of this person who was alreadywell established.” Aleesha, Sociology Strategies (con’t)

12. Downplay the amount of collaboration “We did collaborate within the first few years of being faculty members but it was only on third lines of research that weren’t within either of our individual areas.”Roger,Psychology Strategies (con’t)

13. At tenure Anna (1981) 0/9 Roger (1979) 0/9 At promotion Anna (1990) 6/36 Roger (1990) 7/36 Understating Collaboration: Anna and Roger Number of publications coauthored with partner of total.

14. At tenure Opal (1980) 3/15 At promotion Opal (1984) 22/61 In 1997 Opal (1997) 33/112 Opal, a full professor in 1997 with 4 of 10 books, 6 of 26 chapters, and 33 of 112 journal articles coauthored with her spouse, an amount she labeled as a “small part” of her publication record. Understating Collaboration: Opal & Cliff Number of publications coauthored with partner of total.

15. Conclusions • Strength of the value of individualism is evident in the early career experiences of academic couples. • The injunction to establish an independent identity can be amplified for academic couples and come in conflict with their commitment to “keep it equal.” • Understating contributions [invisible labor] may be an unintended consequence of the ethic of individualism.

16. Conclusions #2 • All policies, including P & T, communicate the culture of an institution, including how “couple-” and “family-friendly” it is. • Institutional policies, particularly the prohibition about collaboration during early career, may be hindering the move toward egalitarianism.

17. References Astin, H. & Milem, J. (1997). The status of academic couples in U. S. institutions (p. 128-155) in M. Ferber & J. Loeb (Eds.), Academic Couples: Problems and Promises. University of Illinois Press. 2. Creamer, E. G., & Associates. (2001). Working equal: Academic couples as collaborators. Garland Studies in Higher Education. FalmerRoutledge Press. 3. Fox, M. F. (2004). Georgia Tech ADVANCE survey of faculty perceptions and experiences. http://www.advance.gatech.edu/measure.html 4. Xie, Y., & Shauman, K. A. (1998). Sex differences in research productivity: New evidence about an old puzzle. American Sociological Review, 63, 847-870.