1st Edition

Inspirational Women in Academia Supporting Careers and Improving Minority Representation

By Natalia Kucirkova, Loleta Fahad Copyright 2023
194 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

194 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

194 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

Expert-led, interdisciplinary, and international in scope, this insightful book aims to increase the representation and leadership potential of women working in academia, examining the intersection of multiple inequalities with a specific focus on gender, age, ethnicity, and disability. A carefully crafted response to educational inequalities, the volume posits an invitation for dialogue around... Read more

List of figures

Chapter 1: You, our reader, and us

Why did we write this book?

Articulation of key words

What is academic success?

A generous definition of academic success

Who inspired this book?

Our interviewees

Transparency

Who is this book for?

Individual academic roles

What makes academia special?

Our individual role in structural inequalities

Culture change is on the horizon

Becoming good university citizens

The Social Justice Agenda in good university citizenship

Chapter 2: Unequal identities

Gendered academia

Intersectionality

Intersections in academic identities

Hierarchies

Discriminatory practices evident in hierarchies

Moving forward

Experiences of discrimination in academia

Challenging discriminations

Tackling discriminations: Equality and equity in academia

Individual agency

The individual agency of female academics

When efforts for addressing discrimination go wrong

Positive efforts for addressing discrimination

Be aware of and beware the implicit bias

Chapter 3: Time-bound identities

The question of time

Multiple identities and multiple time demands

The times are changing

The academic time and our time priorities

Learning to say ‘no’

Should academic women have children?

Academic mums

The myth of the unproductive academic mum

Productive and happy academic moms

The trouble of academic diaries

The time management changes we can all make

Slow it down

Chapter 4: The visible and invisible academic identities

The academic road is not linear

Family background

The academic family

The family of your own choosing

The PhD experience

The reflective academic identity

The power of crystallising experiences

Carving out your academic niche

A funnel approach to niche carving

Pave your own path

Leaving academia

Academic failures

Staying in academia

Chapter 5: The resilient and collaborative identities

Confidence

Resiliency

Courage and resilience

Grace and resilience

Collaboration

Growing your professional networks

The boundaries between private and professional networks

Example of a creative side-hustle

The benefits of combining science and art

The drawbacks of combining science and art

Chapter 6: The publicly engaged identity

The multi-faceted nature of public engagement

Means of public engagement for scientific and professional staff

The importance of public engagement

The case of academic media stars

Effective public engagement

New ways of public engagement

Challenges of social media for research communication

New to public engagement and research communication?

Action research

Setting up your own website

Creative communication methods

Creating public courses

Collaborative public engagement

Chapter 7: Writing identities

Go for quality, not for quantity

Writing well

Collaborative writing

Perfect or good enough articles

Honing your writing skills

Effective writing routines

Protecting your writing time

Shitty drafts

Your own writing voice

Writing journal articles

Editing as part of writing

Ethical editorship

Publishing open-access

Chapter 8: Being Your Authentic Self

What is your ‘whole-self’?

Cultural misconceptions

Loleta’s experience of bringing the authentic self to work

Disability bias and misunderstandings

Coping with being yourself

Getting ahead or being held back?

Conclusion

Chapter 9: Your mentoring identity

Why is a mentor important?

Mentoring in early career stage: PhD supervision

Variations in PhD studies

Mentoring

Female leaders as mentors

Who are inspirational mentors?

How to start a mentorship relationship

Various types of mentorship

Mentorship experiences at the administrative level

Resources and tips

Chapter 10: Your leadership identity

Female leadership

Characteristics of good academic leaders

How does one become a leader?

Our personal experiences of leadership

Inspirational leadership styles

The gloomy statistics

Leadership and the office culture

Women to top

Changes are pending

You are not alone

Chapter 11: This book and us

Chapter 12: References

Index

Biography

Natalia Kucirkova is Full Professor at two universities – University of Stavanger in Norway and The Open University in the UK. She is also a Visiting Professor at University College London, UK, and Chair of the International Collective of Children’s Digital Books.

Loleta Fahad is Head of Career Development in Organisational Development, University College London (UCL), UK. She is responsible for managing, developing, and implementing resources which support the on-going development, progression, and retention of professional staff at UCL.