Conferencing to reignite academic fire

Nothing reignites academic fire like seeing old friends and colleagues at a conference.  Arranging the trans-Atlantic trip was a logistic challenge - including the inevitable bout of stomach flu while preparing my talks - but it was worth it!  To make the trip as short as possible I gave two talks in two countries in 4 days.  Yet there was still time for a quick hike in The Peak District (near Hathersage) and tea with scones and clotted cream in Castleton. 

The Peak District near Hathersage.  Photo: D. M. Buehler.

There was also time for scotch and haggis in Strathpeffer and birding on the shores of Munlochy Bay. 

 

Rainbow in Strathpeffer.  Photo: D. M. Buehler.

Catching up with friends, hatching collaborative plans and trading ideas was wonderful.  But meeting with friends who are also juggling a scientific career and a family was like a drink in the desert. I really missed the solidarity of shared strategies for juggling kids and work.  At home my social circle (although wonderful) involves either academics without kids or parents who are not academics.

It was a change that helped me battle against the exhaustion that comes with having everything you want - kids, job, puzzles to solve - just having a bit too much at once.   And back home the kids were angels with hubby who was quite capable of handling them on his own.

No "Homer Simpson Effect" among high achievers

Life is crazy busy.  Talks to prepare, job applications to prepare, lab work to do, kids got stomach flu - whew! 

So just a short note referring you to a nice trio of letters examining how male and female scientists self-rate their expertise.  It seems that there is no difference among high achieving tropical ecologists.  But I tend to agree with Dugale et al. that the outcome might have been different had males and females at earlier career stages been sampled.  

Gender differences in science: no support for the ‘Homer Simpson Effect’ among tropical researchers

Biased sampling: no ‘Homer Simpson Effect’ among high achievers

Homing in on the ‘Homer Simpson Effect’: reply to Dugdale et al

Academic Women sans Babies 2.0

In counterpoint to my last post about scientists and babies, here is a link to a second great survey, that assembled a panel of women academics to answer questions on life in academia without mentioning kids or motherhood.

Here are links to the responses of two of my favorite bloggers
CanadianGirlPostdoc
Academic Jungle

Enjoy!

Scientists and babies

A recent study (see here for a great summary) published by sociologists Elaine Howard Ecklund and Anne E. Lincoln raises a very important point – the pressure-filled road to tenure keeps both women and men from having as many children as they would like.  This affects their satisfaction with life, and pushes them to leave science as a career. 

Are our babies stressed when we are writing grants?  Is baby stressed when dad is writing a grant too?  It’s not just mom’s responsibility. Image: www.cafepress.com

For me the ground breaking part of this study is that it establishes that this is not a women’s issue and should not be treated as one.  This is a societal issue.  There are a plethora of possible solutions and each has pros and cons.  Because I am a scientist, I don’t have time to get into all of them here (though this may come in a later post).  The point here is that it should not be up to women to highlight or to solve the “problem” that child-bearing years clash with post-doctoral and tenure-track years.  Rather it is our responsibility as a society to face this biological reality and to accommodate it. 

Achieving work-home balance and life satisfaction is a complex and nuanced challenge.  Family friendly policies in academic institutions, such as on-site daycare and reasonable paternal leaves can surely help.  In Canada these already exist for staff and faculty, and are a great success.  But, as researchers spend more and more of their youthful years as post-docs and graduate students, shouldn’t these benefits be extended to these positions as well?  I am not a Pollyanna – I know this will need to be paid for, somehow - but shouldn’t it at least be on the table? 

Imagine this: Your graduate student or post-doc walks into your office and announces that the family is expecting a baby.  Instead of immediate angst about how this person will be supported financially: Will it come from your (already cash strapped) research budget?  Will you have to turn the family away with nothing?  Imagine saying: “Congratulations! Here is the number for XXX in HR, s/he will set you up with the forms you’ll need for your leave.  Now since we are both passionate about science let’s talk about how we can best accommodate both your family and our research while you welcome your new addition.”  Wouldn’t that be nice?