Thursday, June 21, 2012

Fatherhood Makes Sociologists More Successful

The headline news of a study of women sociologists is that having children does not interfere with having a successful career at a research university.

What struck me about the study by Roberta Spalter-Roth and Nicole Van Vooren, though, is the even larger difference that having kids made to the careers of men.

The study divided these sociology Ph.D.s, measured a decade after getting their degree, into "ideal" careers as tenured professors at research universities, "alternative" careers as tenured professors at teaching colleges, or "marginal" careers as adjunct teachers and the like.

For the fathers, 80% were in either ideal or alternative positions, with only 20% getting by marginally.

For childless men, 41% were in marginal careers.

I see this is further evidence that marriage and fatherhood transforms men from the least productive to the most productive workers.


Diane M said...

Good news for marriage and family. But, if men are better off for being married, and women are only as good, it seems like there is some kind of advantage men get out of marriage that women don't.

gruntled said...

Women are more steadily in the middle. Their lives are made better by marriage in many ways, including (contrary to previous expectations) their careers. But the change is not as big as it is for men. For men, marriage takes them (as a group) from one end of the spectrum to the other.