#54 Publish, Parent, Perish? Making Space for Mothers in Legal Academia

Diese Sonderfolge ist Teil des "Women in International Law"
Symposiums 2026 und wurde deshalb auf Englisch produziert.





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 “always-on” availability –
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.


In this episode, Sissy Katsoni and Polina Kulish sit down
with Michelle 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.


Before the interview, Céline Chausse introduces the discussion by
reflecting on the ‘Women in International Law’ symposium and the
importance of bringing mothers’ 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.


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.


This special episode is part of the ‘Women in International Law’
symposium and was therefore produced in English.


Have thoughts to share? We’re all ears! Whether it’s applause,
reflections, or a dash of helpful critique, reach us anytime
at podcast@voelkerrechtsblog.org. 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!





Background information (all Open Access):




Völkerrechtsblog, Women in International Law Vol.
5 (2026)




Lutiana Valadares Fernandes Barbosa, Pandemic, Maternity,
and  International Lawyers from the Global South: a Call
for an Intersectional Approach (2024)




Olof Ejermo, Research or Family: How Does Becoming a Parent
Affect Academic Productivity? (2024)




Christy Ebert Vrtis, If you’re a mother doing a PhD, expect
to be ignored and undermined (2022)




Karen Ramsay and Gayle Letherby, The Experience of Academic
Non-Mothers in the Gendered University (2006)




Xiang Zheng, Haimiao Yuan and Chaoqun Ni, How Parenthood
Contributes to Gender Gaps in Academia (2022)




 


Moderation: Céline Chausse


Interview: Dr. Tania Ixchel Atilano, Dr. Joyce De Coninck,
Dr Michelle Staggs Kelsall, Dr. Sissy Katsoni, Polina Kulish


Background information: Rishiti Choudaha


Cut: Daniela Rau


 


Credits: Opening with Michelle Staggs Kelsall’s quote during the
post-episode recording discussion.


Background music: ‘Gravity of Tenderness’ created by The Fabler.