Mentoring in the academy between academic mothers

Abstract

Being a working mother in academia is difficult, creating tensions between the personal and professional spheres. With numerous conflicts to navigate, surviving becomes a lived reality for many. In this chapter, the authors reflect on the circles of mentoring between them to help navigate the tension-filled spaces in the academy, including traditional and hierarchical norms. Using Schwab’s flights from the field, the authors engage in six reflective states to reveal the importance of care and compassion that transcends countries, cultures and contexts to provide hope (and solidarity). Engaged in auto-ethnographic reflections, the authors build a shared understanding about what is important in their working lives as academic mothers and what are the key skills learnt from each other through mentoring.