{"id":27964,"date":"2026-03-08T11:00:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T10:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/?p=27964"},"modified":"2026-03-09T10:03:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T09:03:40","slug":"54-publish-parent-perish-making-space-for-mothers-in-legal-academia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/de\/54-publish-parent-perish-making-space-for-mothers-in-legal-academia\/","title":{"rendered":"#54 Publish, Parent, Perish? Making Space for Mothers in Legal Academia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border-radius: 12px;\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/3vioOfCGHTxMT7oPYh8uCA?utm_source=generator&amp;t=0\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-testid=\"embed-iframe\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Motherhood sits uneasily within the institutional imagination of international legal academia. Academic career paths are still commonly structured around expectations of uninterrupted productivity, geographic mobility, and \u201calways-on\u201d availability \u2013 assumptions that collide with pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and the ongoing realities of care. This episode takes that tension seriously, treating motherhood not as a private contingency to be managed individually, but as a question of academic culture and institutional design.<\/p>\n<p>In this episode, Sissy Katsoni and Polina Kulish sit down with\u00a0Michelle Staggs Kelsall, Joyce De Coninck and Tania Ixchel Atilano to discuss the realities of motherhood in modern legal academia, the anxieties many women academics experience when considering whether and when to have children, as well as practical steps needed to make academic legal spaces more inclusive.<\/p>\n<p>Before the interview, C\u00e9line Chausse introduces the discussion by reflecting on the \u2018Women in International Law\u2019 symposium and the importance of bringing mothers\u2019 experiences into conversations about legal academia as a workplace. Rishiti Choudaha then sets the stage with key facts and frameworks on the struggles facing mother and non-mother academics in contemporary legal academia and on how institutional practices continues to fall short.<\/p>\n<p>At a moment when many early-career scholars weigh parenthood against professional survival, this episode speaks directly to the anxieties that shape those choices and to the structural changes needed to make legal academia workable for caregivers.<\/p>\n<p>This special episode is part of the \u2018Women in International Law\u2019 symposium and was therefore produced in English.<\/p>\n<p>Have thoughts to share? We\u2019re all ears! Whether it\u2019s applause, reflections, or a dash of helpful critique, reach us anytime at\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:podcast@voelkerrechtsblog.org\">\u2060<u>podcast@voelkerrechtsblog.org<\/u>\u2060<\/a>. Be sure to subscribe via RSS, Spotify, or wherever your favorite podcasts live. And hey, if you love what you hear, a five-star rating goes a long way!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Background information (all Open Access):<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/symposium\/women-in-international-law-vol-5\/\">\u2060<u>V\u00f6lkerrechtsblog,\u00a0Women in International Law Vol. 5\u00a0(2026)<\/u>\u2060<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Lutiana Valadares Fernandes Barbosa, <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn-assetservice.ecom-api.beck-shop.de\/productattachment\/register\/15701781\/31664_zaoerv_jahresregister_2024.pdf\">\u2060<u>Pandemic, Maternity, and\u00a0 International Lawyers from the Global South: a Call for an Intersectional Approach<\/u>\u2060<\/a> (2024)<\/li>\n<li>Olof Ejermo, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sns.se\/en\/publications\/research-or-family-how-does-becoming-a-parent-affect-academic-productivity\">\u2060<u>Research or Family: How Does Becoming a Parent Affect Academic Productivity?<\/u>\u2060<\/a> (2024)<\/li>\n<li>Christy Ebert Vrtis, <a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/555210\/phd-programs-make-mothers-feel-unwelcome-in-the-ivory-tower\">\u2060<u>If you\u2019re a mother doing a PhD, expect to be ignored and undermined<\/u>\u2060<\/a> (2022)<\/li>\n<li>Karen Ramsay and Gayle Letherby, <a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1111\/j.1468-0432.2006.00294.x\">\u2060<u>The Experience of Academic Non-Mothers in the Gendered University<\/u>\u2060<\/a> (2006)<\/li>\n<li>Xiang Zheng, Haimiao Yuan and Chaoqun Ni, <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC9299837\/\">\u2060<u>How Parenthood Contributes to Gender Gaps in Academia<\/u>\u2060<\/a> (2022)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Moderation:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/authors\/celine-chausse\/\">\u2060<u>C\u00e9line Chausse<\/u>\u2060<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Interview: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/tania-ixchel-atilano\/\">\u2060<u>Dr. Tania Ixchel Atilano<\/u>\u2060<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/hrc.ugent.be\/staff\/joyce-de-coninck\/\">\u2060<u>Dr. Joyce De Coninck<\/u>\u2060<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.soas.ac.uk\/about\/michelle-staggs-kelsall\">\u2060<u>Dr Michelle Staggs Kelsall<\/u>\u2060<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/authors\/katsoni\/\">\u2060<u>Dr. Sissy Katsoni<\/u>\u2060<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/authors\/polina-kulish\/\">\u2060<u>Polina Kulish<\/u>\u2060<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Background information:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/authors\/rishiti-choudaha\/\">\u2060<u>Rishiti Choudaha<\/u>\u2060<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Cut: <a href=\"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/authors\/daniela-rau\/\">\u2060<u>Daniela Rau<\/u>\u2060<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Credits: Opening with Michelle Staggs Kelsall\u2019s quote during the post-episode recording discussion.<\/p>\n<p>Background music: \u2018Gravity of Tenderness\u2019 created by <a href=\"https:\/\/linktr.ee\/thefabler\">\u2060<u>The Fabler<\/u>\u2060<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff &nbsp; Motherhood sits uneasily within the institutional imagination of international legal academia. Academic career paths are still commonly structured around expectations of uninterrupted productivity, geographic mobility, and \u201calways-on\u201d availability \u2013 assumptions that collide with pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and the ongoing realities of care. This episode takes that tension seriously, treating motherhood not as a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6639],"tags":[4658,7468],"authors":[7533,7941,7472,7010,7495,6022,7300],"article-categories":[5371,3572,6670],"doi":[],"class_list":["post-27964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-feminist-perspectives","tag-legal-academia","authors-celine-chausse","authors-joyce-de-coninck","authors-michelle-staggs-kelsall","authors-polina-kulish","authors-rishiti-choudaha","authors-katsoni","authors-tania-atilano","article-categories-media","article-categories-symposium","article-categories-podcast"],"acf":{"subline":""},"meta_box":{"doi":"10.17176\/20260308-144927-0"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27964"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27999,"href":"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27964\/revisions\/27999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27964"},{"taxonomy":"authors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/authors?post=27964"},{"taxonomy":"article-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article-categories?post=27964"},{"taxonomy":"doi","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doi?post=27964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}