There are a lot of activities and events that take place in academia. However, many of these involve personal sacrifice and are anti-family.
For example, academics (especially early-career researchers) are encouraged to engage and collaborate with other universities. This often takes place in the form of a visiting fellowship, where you are required to work (often in person) with another university for many weeks, if not months, at a time. However, for those with families, being away for long periods simply is not an option.
As a result, this can have a negative impact on your career development, as it limits opportunities to collaborate, which in turn affects potential for applying for funding, thus limiting career growth. And so the cycle continues.
Academia, whether it is aware of this or not, promotes an anti-family work ethic, leaving many (myself included) to reevaluate their opportunities for career progression and look elsewhere for opportunities.
This needs to change. Universities should be more supportive of those who do not wish to spend extended periods of time away from their loved ones.