Gender and Happiness in Academia: The Effect of the Pandemic in Turkey

Proceedings of The 6th International Conference on Social Sciences in the 21st Century

Year: 2023

DOI:

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Gender and Happiness in Academia: The Effect of the Pandemic in Turkey

Aslı Ermiş-Mert

 

 

ABSTRACT: 

This research examines the work/research-related and household/family-related components that affected the reported happiness levels of women in academia in Turkey since the beginning of the pandemic. A questionnaire that focuses on the different facets of the impact COVID-19 had on women academics, specifically in relation to their subjective well-being, was fully completed by 328 participants. While descriptive analyses of this data show an evident decline in women academics’ happiness levels after the pandemic has begun, multi-level mixed-effects generalized linear models demonstrate that work/research-related variables and different support mechanisms are relatively more influential determinants to predict the happiness levels. To elaborate, multilevel models with multiple independent variables presented that worries surrounding the long-term effects of the pandemic on one’s career have a negative, whereas both institutional and partner/spouse support have a positive impact on women academics’ happiness. Multilevel models with single independent variables additionally showed that the negative impact of the pandemic on research productivity and the subsequent reactions from one’s institution have a diminishing effect, and variance based on academic position was not observed among the variables considered, except for the latter. Hence, in the context of the pandemic process, support at home and at work was found to have a key role in improving women academics’ reported happiness levels in Turkey.

keywords: Gender, Academia, Happiness, Quantitative Methodology, Subjective Well-Being