Bitter Milking Art Education? (Re)orienting, (Re)deeming, (Re)claiming, (Re)presenting M(other)work in Art Education

Reviewing the existing literature of women and/or mothers in academic roles paints a pretty grim picture. Even worse is the prediction for success that shies far from optimistic. Some inequities in higher education need to be considered: women lag behind their male counterparts in tenure status, promotion to full professor, and salary. Overall, considering all full-time faculty at all types of institutions, women earn about 80 percent of what men earn ( Inequities Persist , 2005, p. 1). The adherence to Family Medical Leave Act provisions or other familial and maternal related leave are inconsistent across academia and, even in their most generous states, are still inadequate. Inequity in higher education is not an insignificant issue; the intellectual, institutional, and cultural practices and structures inhibit women from committing to their graduate studies and succeeding in their academic careers (Evans & Grant, 2008; Hile Basset, 2005; Lynch, 2008; Mason & Ekman, 2007; Mason & Goulden, 2002; O\u27Brien, 2007; Pillay, 2009; Sorcinelli, 1992; Stockdell-Giesler & Ingalls, 2007; Tierney & Bensimon, 1996). When engaging women in higher education in a conversation about their academic paths, achievement, and difficulties, gender-based biases are frequently brought up as constant inequities