Latest posts

Do You Know How Many Children Boris Has?

Posted on 17 July 2019 by Athene Donald

Today I was giving a talk within the University about building an inclusive workplace; more than just about gender, of course, but that is where the majority of my experience lies. There are so many obstacles, big and small, which prevent inclusion for minorities of all sorts. They need articulating; to be evidenced, accepted and acted upon by those with the power to effect change. The trouble wit Continue reading →

Posted in Dorothy Hodgkin, Equality, Inclusion, Ursula Von der Leyen | Comments Off on Do You Know How Many Children Boris Has?

Who Do You Think You Are?

Posted on 14 July 2019 by Athene Donald

This is not about the TV programme of the same name. I would not be a good contender for that because, at least on one side of the family, I know quite a lot about my antecedents so I doubt they could dig up surprises about my grandparents (as a child I lived with two of them right up till their deaths and we had a filing cabinet of even earlier diaries dating back to the 1880s or so). On the cont Continue reading →

Posted in compliments, Impostor syndrome, poise, Science Culture, Women in science | Comments Off on Who Do You Think You Are?

50 Years Is Not Long Enough

Posted on 2 July 2019 by Athene Donald

Last weekend I returned to Girton College to join the celebrations for 150 years since its Foundation (albeit the college was originally situated in Hitchin). This was the college of my undergraduate and postgraduate years. When I entered the college in 1971 its centenary was not far past, so all but 50 years have passed. This coming weekend alumni will be coming back to Churchill College to celeb Continue reading →

Posted in admission to degrees, Churchill College, education, Equality, Girton College, Philippa Fawcett, Women in science | Comments Off on 50 Years Is Not Long Enough

Unconscious Bias Training Isn’t a Magic Wand

Posted on 22 June 2019 by Athene Donald

This week saw a sober assessment of the impact – both positive but also depressingly negative – of schemes to improve gender equality. As the Athena Swan Review Group wrestles with how to improve their own awards, it is important to learn from mistakes as well as successes. In years gone by I spoke up for Athena Swan pointing out it wasn’t a ‘tickbox’ exercise, but as time has passed its bureaucra Continue reading →

Posted in Athena Swan, bullying, Equality, implicit bias, Science Culture, training | Comments Off on Unconscious Bias Training Isn’t a Magic Wand

Where is the HE Sector Going?

Posted on 16 June 2019 by Athene Donald

There is a lot going on in the HE policy world, from the Augar Review of post-18 education and funding, to the publication of the UKRI (and its constituent parts) Delivery Plans. Yet all this is set in the context of the worst uncertainty in UK politics I can ever recall. Brexit remains a huge, black cloud of economic and societal uncertainty. We cannot predict who will be Prime Minister in a few Continue reading →

Posted in CDTs, education, John Kingman, Research, Royal Society, Science Funding, strategy, UKRI, Venki Ramakrishnan | Comments Off on Where is the HE Sector Going?

The Matilda Effect and Jean Purdy

Posted on 10 June 2019 by Athene Donald

There are well-known instances of women in science being apparently overlooked for a Nobel Prize: Jocelyn Bell Burnell, springs to mind, as do Lisa Meitner and Rosalind Franklin (if one ignores the inconvenient fact that she was dead by the time of the award). These are names that could readily be associated with the Matilda Effect, coined by Margaret Rossiter and summarised on Wikipedia as

‘bias Continue reading →

Posted in Churchill College Archives, Equality, IVF, Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards, Women in science | Comments Off on The Matilda Effect and Jean Purdy

The Renaissance and Preformation

Posted on 8 June 2019 by Steve Caplan

This is a tale of woes, and oh, what a tale. And it all begins with some introspection as to whether we, as human beings, are “preformed.” If we venture back a mere 350 years or so, to the time of Italian biomedical scientist and microscopist, Marcello Malpighi, we can find the origins of a rather intriguing (if not somewhat childish) scientific theory known as ‘Preformation.’

1978_miniature of sperm

The concept of Pref Continue reading →

Posted in army, internet, Malpighi, microscope, morality, Preformation, Renaissance, Research, science | Comments Off on The Renaissance and Preformation

Examining Season

Posted on 7 June 2019 by Athene Donald

Students, you may want to look away now as I’m going to give away some of the secrets of exam marking, as I’ve discovered them over more years than I care to remember.

Firstly, it is extremely boring. If you have 100 scripts to deal with in a compressed period of time, as so often, it is very hard to keep concentration going reliably. Sometimes the pile may be much larger than 100, which compounds Continue reading →

Posted in education, marking, students | Comments Off on Examining Season

A Crisis in Mental Health in Academia?

Posted on 27 May 2019 by Athene Donald

It will surprise no one in academia to know that it is an environment that is stressful, frequently precarious and there never seem to be enough hours in the day. The HEPI report on mental health issues in academia by Liz Morrish published last week (Pressure Vessels: The epidemic of poor mental health among higher education staff) highlighted the dismaying extent of the problem and considered som Continue reading →

Posted in education, HEPI, Liz Morrish, suicide, well-being | Comments Off on A Crisis in Mental Health in Academia?

In which I assess

Posted on 21 May 2019 by Jennifer Rohn

There’s plenty more where that came from

It’s that time of year – piles of booklets appearing on my desk faster than I can clear them out. Baffling handwriting, detailed rubrics, Excel spreadsheets, moderation sessions, similarity scores, pens of many different colored inks. Short answer questions, dissertations, poster vivas, essays – all produced by students who seem grip Continue reading →

Posted in academia, students, Teaching, The profession of science | Comments Off on In which I assess