Author Archives: Athene Donald

How Not to Chair a Committee

Posted on 15 March 2016 by Athene Donald

Whether as a student or a professor (or indeed at any level in between) I would suspect there isn’t a reader of this blog who hasn’t had to sit through a meeting of some type or other where the Chair … Continue reading →

Posted in committee meetings, incompetence, Science Culture, sexism | Comments Off on How Not to Chair a Committee

Dare to Dream: Parent Carer Scientist

Posted on 10 March 2016 by Athene Donald

This post first appeared here on the Huffington Post on 9th March 2016. ‘Science Needs Women’ says L’Oreal’s tagline succinctly for its For Women in Science Campaign. Science needs women to ensure the best science is done by the most … Continue reading →

Posted in careers, Equality, parents, Royal Society, Women in science | Comments Off on Dare to Dream: Parent Carer Scientist

A Tale of Politics, Policy and Nerves

Posted on 6 March 2016 by Athene Donald

Walking in to the Babbage Lecture Theatre in the centre of Cambridge last week took me straight back to what I suspect was the first lecture I ever attended (or should that be endured?) in Cambridge as an undergraduate. I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Carlos Moedas, Downing Street Declaration, EU, Impostor syndrome, Jo Johnson, Science Culture | Comments Off on A Tale of Politics, Policy and Nerves

National Academies and the Gender Mix Around the World

Posted on 1 March 2016 by Athene Donald

National academies of science serve a variety of purposes including recognizing the country’s eminent scientists and providing an impartial (usually) voice to government and other policy makers. If this voice is to be truly representative it needs to be inclusive. … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, Interacademies Partnership, national academies, Rosalind Franklin, Royal Society, Women in science | Comments Off on National Academies and the Gender Mix Around the World

Drinking Habits of the Academic

Posted on 25 February 2016 by Athene Donald

Do we, poor misguided academics drink too much? I am sure many of us could do with drinking less but I was surprised to see the Guardian’s Academics Anonymous complaining that Russell group universities ply everyone with too much alcohol. … Continue reading →

Posted in alcohol, Phd student training, Science Culture, seminars | Comments Off on Drinking Habits of the Academic

On Being Biased

Posted on 18 February 2016 by Athene Donald

The subject of unconscious bias training has risen swiftly up the agenda at many organisations with the recognition that we are, almost without exception, guilty of it. (If you think you’re exempt, try the Project Implicit tests.) Be it that … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, patronising, promotion, Stereotypes, Women in science | Comments Off on On Being Biased

The Environmental Sisterhood

Posted on 14 February 2016 by Athene Donald

The admissions process to Cambridge can raise strong opinions. I’ve written about dispelling the myths behind the process and more recently about widening participation issues. But now I’m provoked to write about my own experience of applying to the university, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge admissions, education, environmentalism, ornithology, Rachel Carson | Comments Off on The Environmental Sisterhood

Permission Given

Posted on 8 February 2016 by Athene Donald

This is a post about professional anxiety and what might be done to alleviate it. Consider who asks questions after departmental seminars or conference talks: too often it is the usual suspects (although my impression is that this is getting … Continue reading →

Posted in committees, Science Culture, seminars, speaking up, Women in science | Comments Off on Permission Given

Cambridge University, Widening Participation and the Government

Posted on 4 February 2016 by Athene Donald

What follows first appeared on the Times Higher Education blog platform on February 2nd 2016 (this is the unedited version). At the bottom I add a footnote about further developments since I first drafted this piece mainly regarding Cambridge admissions … Continue reading →

Posted in BAMEs, diversity, education, Oxbridge, widening participation | Comments Off on Cambridge University, Widening Participation and the Government

What’s the Extent of the Problem?

Posted on 30 January 2016 by Athene Donald

I don’t usually recycle my posts, but the time seems ripe to repost this particular one appended below. I wrote it just over three years ago. It asks ‘Just how bad is it?’ referring to the issue of sexual harassment. … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Geoff Marcy, sexism, sexual harassment, Women in science | Comments Off on What’s the Extent of the Problem?