One of the reasons I have steady work as a PhD career and life coach is that the turn to casualization in academic labor has left many in need of alternative, better paid, and more stable work. In addition, career advancement for women and women of color in higher ed is also disproportionately impacted by the emphasis on research productivity - which is hardly supported when one is in a contingent teaching position or mired in service engagements while on the tenure track. I brought together issues related to contingency, diversity and care work in the first article to explicitly frame higher ed teaching and service AS caring labor. That article drew many eyeballs around the globe during the pandemic as the burden of “who cares” became painfully apparent when schools, childcare centers and geriatric care services were closed, yet academics were still expected to be productive at work while privately having to meet significant care gaps. Here are just a few resources on this timely and voluminous topic (with embedded links):
Karen Cardozo, “Academic Labor: Who Cares?” (2017)
Ginny Boss, Christa Porter, Tiffany Davis and Candace Moore, “Who Cares? (Re)Visioning Justice for Black Women Contingent Faculty” (2021)
Leslie Gonzalez and Kimberly Griffin, “Supporting Faculty During and After the COVID-19 pandemic: Don’t Let Go of Equity” (2020)
Seth Kahn and Amy Lynch-Biniek, “From Activism to Organizing, From Caring to Carework” (2022)