Author Archives: Athene Donald

Climate Change and Seneca Falls

Posted on 3 November 2024 by Athene Donald

Those of you familiar with American women’s call for the vote will recognize the name Seneca Falls. It is situated in picturesque upstate New York, near the top of Lake Cayuga, at the bottom of which sit Ithaca and Cornell … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, Eunice Foote, Peter Stott, Women in science | Comments Off on Climate Change and Seneca Falls

Mary Wollstonecraft’s Wisdom

Posted on 24 October 2024 by Athene Donald

I came to Mary Wollstonecraft late, as it were, not even having come across her name until relatively recently. Perhaps that is a shameful admission, but I think she has become much more visible of late, not least due to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in careers, Equality, retirement, roles, skills | Comments Off on Mary Wollstonecraft’s Wisdom

Can One Simplify the REF?

Posted on 14 October 2024 by Athene Donald

The REF is much in the news, with some feathers ruffled by UK Day One’s proposal to simplify the whole process, as detailed in their report Replacing the Research Excellence Framework. I am sure there are academics and administrators up … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in grants, James Wilsdon, research culture, Science Culture, Science Funding, The Metric Tide | Comments Off on Can One Simplify the REF?

The Path Not Taken

Posted on 6 October 2024 by Athene Donald

One of the last tasks I did as Master of Churchill College, was to partake in an afternoon’s event as part of their alumni weekend, badged as ‘Arts meet Science’. The first, and more substantial part, consisted of various pieces … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in apprenticeships, broad and balanced, curriculum, decisions, education | Comments Off on The Path Not Taken

An Anthropological Experiment in Birmingham

Posted on 1 October 2024 by Athene Donald

I’m not sure that spending my last day as Master of Churchill College at the Conservative Party Conference would have been quite what I expected, but so it was. I was in Birmingham – just as I was in Liverpool … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in apprenticeships, conservatives, David Willetts, education, Robert Halfon, Science Culture, skills | Comments Off on An Anthropological Experiment in Birmingham

What Can I Do to Help?

Posted on 15 September 2024 by Athene Donald

Men who’ve heard me talk about my book (Not Just for the Boys: Why we need more women in science), or more generally about the issues facing women in STEM, not infrequently ask me this question: what can I do … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in ECRs, Erin Zimmerman, maternity leave, motherhood, Research, Science Culture, supervisors, Women in science | Comments Off on What Can I Do to Help?

For the Last Time

Posted on 6 September 2024 by Athene Donald

For the Last Time I have written in the past about the challenges of doing something for the first time. For early career researchers, this could be anything from giving a conference presentation to travelling to another lab to learn … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in careers, challenges, Churchill College, committees | Comments Off on For the Last Time

Getting Feedback

Posted on 1 September 2024 by Athene Donald

Academics do not necessarily get regular or even useful ‘performance reviews’, call them what you will. Businesses typically take this a lot more seriously, but a recent report highlights the many problems that can arise even with the best of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in appraisal, careers, emotional, minorities, Science Culture, stereotype threat | Comments Off on Getting Feedback

Does Working from Home make you more Productive?

Posted on 26 August 2024 by Athene Donald

Does working from home (and hybrid working) improve productivity or the opposite? Two recent reports have come to slightly different conclusions, and I suspect this is not surprising because the answer almost certainly is ‘it depends’. Clearly if you are … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in careers, Equality, hybrid, job satifsfaction, mentoring, retention | Comments Off on Does Working from Home make you more Productive?

More Than A-Levels

Posted on 20 August 2024 by Athene Donald

Last week saw the annual media interest in A-Level results (at least in England). Commentators noticed, for instance, the substantial increase in STEM subjects, with over 100,000 students taking Maths. This figure was remarkable as it was the first time … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in BTECs, careers, education, funding, productivity, T Levels | Comments Off on More Than A-Levels