Category Archives: maternity leave

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?

Not Being in the In-Crowd

Posted on 14 December 2023 by Athene Donald

Recently I was preparing a talk about work scientists may do that is not simply research and it has provoked me to think about when I fell into doing policy work, or at least moving out of the lab itself. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Food Physics, grant panels, maternity leave, Research, Science Culture, Women in science | Comments Off on Not Being in the In-Crowd

Inclusive Leadership

Posted on 6 December 2017 by Athene Donald

This week I attended an event in the University exploring, broadly speaking, how we can do ‘inclusive leadership’ better. Kicked off by a talk by  Barbara Stocking, President of the women’s college Murray Edwards, who was talking about the various … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, maternity leave, Recruitment, Science Culture, Unconscious bias | Comments Off on Inclusive Leadership

Levelling the European Playing Field

Posted on 23 October 2013 by Athene Donald

One of the good things about (certain) committees is that one learns so much. That may not be everyone’s experience but over the years I personally have found many committees – though most certainly not all – very educational. I … Continue reading →

Posted in CV, ERC, maternity leave, research grants, Women in science | Comments Off on Levelling the European Playing Field

That Dratted Tenure Clock

Posted on 7 March 2012 by Athene Donald

Almost exactly a year ago I posted a blogpost on the back of wading through papers for a promotion panel. I’m buried in the paperwork again this year, but I’d like to put a very different emphasis on what I … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, maternity leave, paternity leave, promotions, tenure clock | Comments Off on That Dratted Tenure Clock

Levelling the Playing Field

Posted on 2 November 2011 by Athene Donald

This article has been published in the November issue of Physics World. The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE),which has been used to measure the quality of UK research for more than 20 years, has now morphed into the equally clunky sounding … Continue reading →

Posted in consultation, Equality, HEFCE, maternity leave, outputs, REF, Research, Women in science | Comments Off on Levelling the Playing Field

Why Should She Do it All?

Posted on 19 September 2011 by Athene Donald

My recent article in the THE about cultural expectations being imposed on young girls (which also appeared as a post here) got a mixed reception in the online comments.  Several seemed to have failed to grasp the central point that … Continue reading →

Posted in Allison Pearson, children, Equality, maternity leave, Ottoline Leyser, Science Culture, Women in science | Comments Off on Why Should She Do it All?

Progression and Backlash

Posted on 9 February 2011 by Athene Donald

One of the blogs that I try to read regularly – beyond my local microcosm of Occam’s Typewriter – is that of FemaleScienceProfessor, also known as FSP for short .  You can guess I would feel a sense of shared … Continue reading →

Posted in affirmative action, Equality, maternity leave, minority, positive action, tenure clock, tenure track, Women in science | Comments Off on Progression and Backlash