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It is not new for mother-scholars to face challenges in balancing work and life demands; however, the COVID-19 pandemic has redefined the meaning of mother-scholars as they maneuver working from home, caring for their dependents, and maintaining their research productivity. The following manuscript is a collection of autoethnographic studies of the experiences of four women of differing ranks in the academy: pre-tenure, mid-career, and late-career. What they all have in common is caregiving responsibilities that abruptly derailed their research agendas when the pandemic interrupted their lives.

The researchers summarized and synthesized research evidence on different women's leadership characteristics and behaviors from men and identified essential women's leadership competencies that are necessary to address the new challenges of today's workplace and the paradigm shifts for women leaders to remain competitive in Industry 4.0. Recent neuroscience and social science research findings regarding women's leadership characteristics and behaviors were reviewed and discussed. Critical leadership traits, abilities, and skills for (international) business success were discussed. Six essential women's leadership skill sets for Industry 4.0 were proposed to provide human resource development practitioners a framework for women leadership development and promoting gender equality in workplace. Some unique women's traits such as sensing, listening, accepting, approaching, collaborating, supporting, and encouraging, can be women leaders' strengths in the tech-driven workplace. Finally, implications for human resource development and recommendations for future research were provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to understand how professional Moroccan women working in various sectors perceive their current work‐life balance (WLB). While gender equity and women's empowerment have been rising in the past few years in Morocco, there may still be challenges faced to accomplish their career and family roles. An exploratory approach to the study has been employed in order to unveil the various barriers hindering women's WLB within the Moroccan organizational context. Using structured interviews, participants were given an opportunity to review what they believe is important in achieving a good WLB. A total of 45 women participants have voluntarily engaged in an interview that lasted between 30 and 45 min. Findings from this investigation revealed that the overwhelming women's family responsibilities and the requirements of their professional obligations lead to a disproportionate burden on them, resulting in difficulty to manage both roles successfully therefore causing an imbalanced work‐life. The study offers valuable insights on how women view their current WLB and reflects on possible mechanisms to improve it. Understanding women's perceptions of their own WLB can facilitate the identification of strategies and policies geared toward the retention of women in the workforce, and Moroccan organizations can develop and implement HRD strategies and policies that are geared toward creating a workplace that is more supportive of women's professional and personal goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Problem: The ideal worker in the Academy devotes most of their lives to scholarly pursuits, which leaves little time for family. This problem leads to work–life conflict, which is particularly concerning for faculty members who are seeking promotion and tenure. Work–life conflict is most challenging in the case of academic mothers, who face professional career challenges in addition to work–life conflict. Rigid organizational policies and non-supportive cultures perpetuate the problem, particularly when the faculty member is an academic mother seeking promotion and tenure. The Solution: Human resource development (HRD) interventions implemented at the individual, departmental, and institutional levels (e.g., training development, performance management, and career development initiatives) have been shown to reduce work–life conflict, improve overall well-being, and create a more family friendly environment. Organization development (OD) cultural change interventions aimed at changing the Academy to become more family focused and supportive of career flexibility are recommended. The Stakeholders: Academic faculty, higher education administrators, HRD scholars, and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women interested in becoming professors and mothers are often unsure of the best time to start their families. Many women decide to become mothers in graduate school. This article discusses the landscape for graduate students who decide to become mothers (gsms) while still in school. There are several obstacles for gsms who wish to become tenured faculty members. Institutional obstacles include the notion of ideal workers and ideal careers, which do not include the option of motherhood and often conflict with the notion of the ideal mother. Another obstacle is institutional gender biases and assumptions about women, such as the bias against caregiving. Women of any age are assumed to be responsible for caregiving of children and/or elders. Finally, women lack their own individual agency and do not have family support to be able to be successful. gsms can employ various strategies to overcome these obstacles. Strategies can include institutional change strategies, department support, individual agency, and family support. Obstacles and strategies are illustrated through personal vignettes from the authors' own experiences: three authors are tenured with children, and two have infants and are gsms. Two authors are or have been chairs of dissertation committees. Recommendations for institutions are offered that can support gsms in their efforts to be successful at mothering and professing in the ivory tower. The presented arguments make it clear that the mothering viewpoint is sorely needed in the academy, and that gsms need support from all stakeholders in order to be successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]