Promoting and supporting field-based geomorphologists during pregnancy and early motherhood
- 1Department of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- 2Department of Geography, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK (a.rowan@sheffield.ac.uk)
- 3Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
- 4Dipper and Spruce, LLC, White Salmon, WA, USA
- 5Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, Faculty of Geosciences and the Environment, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- 6Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- 7School of Geography & the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Many geomorphologists who are mothers find it challenging to balance field research alongside pregnancy and early motherhood. The barriers presented by carrying out fieldwork during pregnancy or as a mother of preschool-aged children can adversely affect the career progress of women and Early Career Scientists at a point that is critical for their retention in scientific research. We offer perspectives on the challenges of fieldwork as mothers and discuss possible solutions that have worked (or not) for us, as a means of promoting conversations and highlighting issues that are less commonly considered in field-based geomorphological research. Although every mother’s experience and needs are different, we discuss strategies for conducting fieldwork, addressing childcare issues, maintaining a research career through this life stage, and dealing with financial considerations such as additional childcare costs. We highlight funders that support mothers in carrying out fieldwork and the problem of institutional restrictions on such spending. We call for our community to support geomorphologists who are pregnant or caring for young children in carrying out fieldwork to help enhance the diversity of voices and perspectives within our discipline.
How to cite: Lininger, K., Rowan, A. V., Livers, B., Kramer, N., Ruiz-Villanueva, V., Sendrowski, A., and Burrough, S.: Promoting and supporting field-based geomorphologists during pregnancy and early motherhood, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-726, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-726, 2022.
