Decisions to relocate while negotiating work and family desires are complex. Below I reflect on my own experience and reactions from peers: “Are you sure you are not relocating for work just because of your partner?”. What?! Deciding whether or not to emigrate It is summer 2021. My grants have come to an end and…

The University of Amsterdam (UvA) is implementing a revised annual consultation system that has shifted focus from performance assessment to staff development. Yet, it will also take centre stage in strategic personnel planning. Below I reflect on the opportunities it offers employees, but wonder how it can be used in strategic personnel planning without shifting…

[originally posted on the official blog of Functional Ecology, a British Ecological Society journal] Conference season is about to start again. For many this is a chance to present latest research results, connect with peers, and establish new contacts and networks. But what if your resource of time is poor? What if you have care…

A Works Council in the Netherlands is: an internal body of a company representing employees, has consultation rights in respect of certain significant proposed management decisions, and has approval rights in respects of intended decisions regarding certain employment policies. The Works Council of the Faculty of Science at the University of Amsterdam has 15 seats….

“How can you be Chair the Faculty Works Council if you cannot go to after-work drinks?” A (male) colleague from another faculty asked me this a few weeks ago. It totally blew me. I did not know what to say in reply. I am an elected Chair of the Faculty Works Council, one of which…

Supervisors of PhD students and Post Docs are there to provide input and discussion on the research project that their group members undertake. Crucial, also, is that supervisors provide mentoring to their PhD students and Post Docs, which is critical to their career development and advancement. Most supervisors mentor their group members well, but in…

I care. I look after my son, together with my partner. But our son needs very predictable schedules, cannot deal well with novel situations, and only feels safest with me, which means I do a lot of the day-to-day care. He is a lovely little boy, and we have all found our way in our…

I have been asked a few times whether I have joined a women in science network. I have never done so. The first time I came across such a network was at the Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) where I did my PhD research. At the time, this NIOZ women-in-science network consisted of only…

I often chat to my students about career choices and these conversations often also cover the topic of gender balance in academia, which typically gets more male biased as you climb the academic ranks. To give you some numbers, I’ve calculated the proportion of fte that are filled by women, from PhD candidate to professor,…

The other day I sat on a committee in charge of deciding which promising post docs would be granted a personal fellowship. I read quite a few CVs that had interruptions such as parental leave, illness, time devoted to changing research field, part time research activities, or unemployment. However, in all cases, these interruptions were…