Despite becoming increasingly represented in academic departments, women scholars face a critical lack of support as they navigate demands pertaining to pregnancy, motherhood, and child caregiving. In addition, cultural norms surrounding how faculty and academic leaders discuss and talk about tenure, promotion, and career success have created pressure for women who wish to grow their family and care for their children, leading to questions about whether it is possible for these women to have a family and an academic career. This paper is a call to action for academia to build structures that support professors who are women as they navigate the complexities of pregnancy, the postpartum period, and the caregiving demands of their children. We specifically call on those of us in I-O psychology, management, and related departments to lead the way. In making this call, we first present the realistic, moral, and financial cases for why this issue needs to be at the forefront of discussions surrounding success in the academy. We then discuss how, in the U.S. and elsewhere, an absence of policies supporting women places two groups of academics—department heads (as the leaders of departments who have discretion outside of formal policies to make work better for women) and other faculty members (as potential allies both in the department and within our professional organizations)—in a critical position to enact support and change. We conclude with our boldest call—to make a cultural shift that shatters the assumption that having a family is not compatible with academic success. Combined, we seek to launch a discussion that leads directly to necessary and overdue changes in how women scholars are supported in academia.

The aims of this study were: (a) to examine associations of oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociative symptoms and (b) to investigate gene–environment (G × E) interaction with childhood maltreatment. Salivary DNA samples from 228 women of European ancestry were analysed. Two SNPs, rs237895 and rs237897, were associated with dissociative symptoms but not PTSD diagnosis. Another SNP (rs2254298) was associated with dissociation when interacting with history of childhood maltreatment. These results contribute to theorising and evidence suggesting that the oxytocin system and its genetics may be associated with risk for dissociation among European American women, including those with maltreatment history. Replication with larger patient samples, including men and other ancestry groups, is needed.

Neuropsychological dysfunction is a well-established finding in individuals with bipolar disorder type I (BP-I), even during euthymic periods; however, it is less clear whether this also pertains to bipolar disorder type II (BP-II) or those with subthreshold states (SBP; subthreshold bipolar disorder), such as bipolar not otherwise specified (BP-NOS). Herein, we compare the literature regarding neuropsychological performance in BP-II vs BP-I to determine the extent of relative impairment, and we present and review all related studies on cognition in SBP. After systematically searching PubMed, Medline, PsycINFO, and The Cochrane Library, we found 17 papers that comprise all the published studies relevant for this review. The areas that are consistently found to be impaired in BP are executive function, verbal memory, visual spatial working memory, and attention. More studies than not show no significant difference between BP-I and BP-II, particularly in euthymic samples. Preliminary evidence suggests that patients experiencing major depressive episodes who also meet criteria for SBP show similar profiles to BP-II; however, these results pertain only to a depressed sample. SBP were found to perform significantly better than both MDD and healthy controls in a euthymic sample. A consensus on mood state, patient selection, and neuropsychological testing needs to be agreed on for future research. Furthermore, no studies have used the most recent DSM-5 criteria for SBP; future studies should address this. Finally, the underlying bases of cognitive dysfunction in these diagnostic groups need to be further investigated. We suggest recommendations on all of the above current research challenges.