  Gender differences in research productivity are well documented, and have
been mostly explained by access parental leave and child-related
responsibilities. Those explanations are based on the assumption that women
take on the majority of childcare responsibilities, and take the same level of
leave at the birth of a child. Changing social dynamics around parenting has
seen fathers increasingly take an active role in parenting. This demands a more
nuanced approach to understanding how parenting affects both men and women.
Using a global survey of 11,226 academic parents, this study investigates the
effect of parental engagement (Lead, Dual (shared), and Satellite parenting),
and partner type, on measures of research productivity and impact for men and
for women. It also analyzes the effect of different levels of parental leave on
academic productivity. Results show that the parenting penalty for men and
women is a function of the level of engagement in parenting activities. Men who
serve in lead roles suffer similar penalties, but women are more likely to
serve in lead parenting roles and to be more engaged across time and tasks.
Taking a period of parental leave is associated with higher levels of
productivity, however the productivity advantage is lost for the US-sample at 6
months, and at 12-months for the non-US sample. These results suggest that
parental engagement is a more powerful variable to explain gender differences
in academic productivity than the mere existence of children, and that policies
should that factor into account.
