[{"titre":"The impossible equation of being a researcher mother, striving to make ends meet","id":3248546,"pubDate":"Thu, 29 Oct 2026 07:58:21 +0100","description":"How can we encourage women to pursue scientific careers? In recent years, a number of mentoring or awareness campaigns have been put in place to encourage French high school students to study maths, physics or engineering sciences, while they remain underrepresented in these fields. One of the last large-scale initiatives is the Filles et Maths program , launched in 2025, including work on gender bias, the implementation of “role models” or timetables featuring flexible hours. The program was nonetheless met with criticism: while women remain under-represented in some disciplines, they also remain a minority in the highest positions across the board in the academic world, from mathematics to social sciences. In France, gender inequalities are therefore not limited to access to scientific studies: they cut across all university careers and make many women leave French Higher Education and Research before securing tenure. This “drain” is explained by several factors among which motherhood holds an important place. A survey in Denmark illustrates that unlike men, one in three women abandon their scientific career after the birth of their first child. The survey I have been conducting among doctoral students and social scientists highlights the difficulties faced by women who became mothers before becoming permanent employees. Since the 1980s , recruitment requirements have become tougher with candidates needing to have written a good PhD paper, regularly have their work published , participate in scientific events and get involved in the life of research labs. Much of this work falls under hope labour , that is, unpaid work done in the hope of future employment. In this context, what could be called the myth of the “total researcher” takes shape. This is based on the double penalty of being a productive scientist (without necessarily receiving any financial reward) and embodying the ideal of a career woman, devoted companion, and dedicated mother all rolled into one. However, this ideal of the “total researcher” clashes with the actual conditions of scientific work and motherhood. Paying the motherhood penalty in academia Becoming a full-time researcher requires mothers who aren’t tenured researchers to reorganise their lives. Some cram several days’ work into one by doing casual work, part-time teaching, unpaid scientific projects, and parental responsibilities. The pace often makes women work under pressure, sometimes at the expense of the quantity and quality of their scientific work. Other women choose to remain unemployed or take parental leave and thus link their career to that of their spouse if they earn enough. If this strategy of linked career is favourable for scientific production when you have a child, it also creates material dependence that could lead to sexist and sexual violence within the family unit, which this testimony from Jeanne, a doctor and mother of a little girl, illustrates: “I sometimes feel like I have to [‘have sex’], telling myself that ‘I owe him’ and ‘He lets me know it’.” In a professional context , where every moment must count, maternity, parental or sick leave become scientific working hours in themselves. Rebecca, for example, shared that she continued writing her final thesis when her son was sent to hospital in an emergency. This situation feeds a feeling of double guilt: the respondents believe they are never up to par, neither as mothers nor as researchers. Joana explains: “I took parental leave from work, but I feel bad about working when I see my son next to me.” Some non-tenured researcher dads, on the other hand, benefit from an academic paternity bonus. The gendered division of domestic and parental tasks, as well as taking paternity leave, sometimes allows them to devote more time to their research. To quote Marion’s doctor of History husband’s words: “I have completed nearly two articles in one month of paternity leave!” The","source":"The Conversation – Articles (FR)","url":"https://theconversation.com/the-impossible-equation-of-being-a-researcher-mother-striving-to-make-ends-meet-294312"},{"url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1866/46770","source":"Faculté de droit Travaux récents","id":3229086,"pubDate":"Tue, 20 Oct 2026 08:10:41 +0200","titre":"Zoom-in sur l’école en ligne : l’expérience des étudiant.e.s inscrit.e.s dans un programme universitaire en ligne","description":"dc.contributor.author: Drapeau, Louis-Félix dc.date.issued: 2026-10 dc.description.abstract: Depuis la crise de la COVID-19, l’enseignement en ligne s’est imposé comme une composante permanente de l’université québécoise. Pourtant, malgré cette popularisation, le vécu subjectif de cette population demeure largement invisibilisé par une littérature scientifique souvent centrée sur une démonstration de sa réussite pédagogique et l'efficacité technique de ses dispositifs. Ce travail de recherche comble ce manque en explorant la « fabrication » de l’expérience scolaire au sein de cet environnement numérique. Cette étude articule les logiques d’action de François Dubet aux concepts d’acteur pluriel de Bernard Lahire et de résonance d’Hartmut Rosa. S’appuyant sur une enquête qualitative compréhensive menée par entretiens de groupe via visioconférence, auprès de 7 étudiant.e.s entre 24 et 59 ans et provenant d’une variété de programmes en ligne. L’analyse déconstruit la tension entre motivations instrumentales et qualité du rapport au monde. Les résultats révèlent d'abord une hégémonie de la logique stratégique : le format numérique est largement choisi par souci d’économie de temps et d’efforts, permettant de négocier l’accès au diplôme face à des contraintes géographiques, familiales ou difficultés d’apprentissage. Toutefois, cette instrumentalité masque une logique «impure» visant à protéger l’intégration vécue dans d’autres sphères de vie. Ensuite, cette étude se concentre sur l’expérience des étudiant.e.s dans ces programmes en ligne. Le cœur de l’étude met en lumière un paradoxe dans l’enseignement en ligne : les outils de domination technique (IA, accélération, multitasking) permettent d’une part un accès important à l’université, aux savoirs, aux enseignements et à des collègues étudiant.e.s, mais finissent par rendre le monde scolaire muet. En se dotant d’un soi tampon, l’étudiant se protège des malaises de l’interface et du regard de l’autre, mais s'aliène de l’expérience transformatrice de l’apprentissage. Néanmoins, la recherche identifie des oasis de résonance, notamment via le tutorat ou des espaces informels de résistance, où la corde vibrante du lien pédagogique parvient encore à s'activer; Since the COVID-19 crisis, online education has established itself as a permanent fixture of the Quebec University landscape. Yet, despite this popularity, the subjective lived experience of this student population remains largely invisible within a scientific literature often preoccupied with demonstrating pedagogical success and the technical efficiency of digital systems. This research addresses this gap by exploring the construction of the school experience within this digital environment. The study articulates François Dubet’s logic of action with Bernard Lahire’s concept of the plural actor and Hartmut Rosa’s theory of resonance. Drawing on a comprehensive qualitative inquiry conducted through group interviews via videoconferencing, the analysis deconstructs the tension between instrumental motivations and the quality of the relationship to the world. The findings first reveal a hegemony of the strategic logic: the digital format is primarily chosen for reasons of time and effort optimization, allowing students to negotiate access to knowledge amidst geographical constraints, family"},{"description":"This column presents excerpts from a student paper, completed under the University of Toronto’s Community Research Partnership in Ethics program; the full paper will be published by the National Self-Represented Litigants Project later this year. Over the past 20 years, Alberta’s family justice system has distinguished itself from other jurisdictions by implementing mandatory forms of assistance. In 2005, the Alberta government launched mandatory meetings for SRLs in provincial court, pursuant to the Intake and Caseflow Management Regulation. [1] Building on this, and recognizing the inherent difficulties associated with an SRL’s journey through the family law system, the new Family Justice . . . [more] The post The Utility of Mandatory Assistance for Self-Represented Litigants in Alberta appeared first on Slaw","titre":"The Utility of Mandatory Assistance for Self-Represented Litigants in Alberta","id":3220228,"pubDate":"Fri, 16 Oct 2026 07:57:54 +0200","source":"Slaw","url":"https://www.slaw.ca/2026/10/15/the-utility-of-mandatory-assistance-for-self-represented-litigants-in-alberta/"},{"url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/sffa-and-the-wrong-of-race-based-statistical-discrimination/","source":"Harvard Law Review","description":"In Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College. (SFFA), the Supreme Court invalidated the race-based affirmative action programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (UNC) under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The SFFA majority held that the programs could not survive strict scrutiny: The universities’ interests in their affirmative action programs were not sufficiently compelling... The post SFFA and the Wrong of Race-Based Statistical Discrimination appeared first on Harvard Law Review","pubDate":"Wed, 13 May 2026 14:28:39 +0200","id":2881848,"titre":"SFFA and the Wrong of Race-Based Statistical Discrimination"},{"url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/sffa-and-the-wrongs-of-race-based-statistical-discrimination/","source":"Harvard Law Review","description":"In Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College. (SFFA), the Supreme Court invalidated the race-based affirmative action programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (UNC) under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The SFFA majority held that the programs could not survive strict scrutiny: The universities’ interests in their affirmative action programs were not sufficiently compelling... The post SFFA and the Wrongs of Race-Based Statistical Discrimination appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2877108,"pubDate":"Mon, 11 May 2026 14:25:59 +0200","titre":"SFFA and the Wrongs of Race-Based Statistical Discrimination"}]