About being a supermom or dad with a career in academics
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A SuperMinds 2014 Talk by Ilse Marien (iMinds - SMIT – VUB) Debates on combining parenthood with a challenging career have been going on for years. While they have mostly been translated into the disadvantaged position of women, I would in this regard like to open up the debate and take a stance for a feasible work-life balance for all parents working in academia. No matter from which angle you consider parenthood with an academic career, the negative consequences are there. Working towards deadlines nights in a row, reading or writing during weekends, catching up on sleep whenever you see fit … all of these things change once you have kids. However, having kids does not imply that you become a lesser researcher than your peers. You just need to go about things differently. And flexibility, trust and support of your research institution become key to enable you to be as good a researcher as you were before kids came into the picture. During this talk I would like to address the various solutions and interventions that could be realized by research institutions and, of course, at an iMinds level to enable a more fitted and healthy work-life balance.
Transcript of About being a supermom or dad with a career in academics
Flexibility – Trust – Choice !
