“They’re All Expecting the Best of You”: The Complex Intersection of Being a Woman, Mother and Doctoral Student

Abstract

Currently, the persistence of gender biases continues to generate inequalities for women. In the case of those who are mothers and decide to pursue university studies, difficulty has been observed in harmonizing both roles. Although there is literature on the intersection of motherhood and university studies, there is little research that addresses motherhood in context of doctoral studies in Chile. The purpose of this research is to understand the experiences of women who are mothers of boys and girls in early childhood and who are pursuing doctoral studies throughout the Chilean territory. To this end, a qualitative study is proposed, which incorporates semi-structured interviews and a thematic analysis. The results refer to the complex economic outlook that a significant part of doctoral student mothers face during this period of their studies; the importance of having support networks during upbringing; an ongoing struggle to maintain physical and mental well-being influenced by the demands of multiple tasks; and finally, gender roles that endure over time as a socio-cultural inheritance that complicates the situation of being a woman, mother and doctoral student.