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Childcare crowdfunding campaigns aim to keep mums on the academic track

The lack of affordable childcare threatens the retention of scientist parents, especially mothers and those of colour.
  1. Virginia Gewin

    1. Virginia Gewin is a freelance journalist based in Portland, Oregon.

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As Ava, a postdoctoral researcher at a top-tier university in North Carolina, bounces her three-month-old daughter on her lap during the final days of her family leave, she worries about whether she will be able to realize her dream of becoming a principal investigator (PI). Her biggest roadblock is the lack of affordable childcare. “You have to be competitive in order to get the PI positions, and I won’t be able to do that if I’m not able to put her in day care,” she says.

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Nature 605, 575-577 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01289-8

This is an article from the Nature Careers Community, a place for Nature readers to share their professional experiences and advice. Guest posts are encouraged.

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 12 May 2022: An earlier version of this feature did not give the most up-to-date figures about Vanderbilt University’s day-care facility, and erroneously stated that the two grants it received to provide salary bonuses were from the federal government.

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