How do we achieve equality in the academic world?
The position of women in academia is still not as stable and accepted as we would like it to be. What can we do about this? Dr Ruth van Veelen (Social, Health & Organisational Psychology) shared her vision with .
Quota
An obvious way to increase the number of women working in the academic world would be to set quota, which have been the subject of much debate for quite a while now. "I'm not against quota, but I'm also not in favour of them if they're not widely supported," says Van Veelen. "Many diversity initiatives are only aimed at the minority group, and this makes that minority group responsible for resolving their own inequality. You also have to look at your own culture and systems".
Inclusive success
How, then, do we take the next step? "You have to make sure that inclusiveness is applied to the reward and appreciation of success," Van Veelen explains. "It is important that not only the individualistic, high-impact scoring, prestigious, scholarship-holding scientist is rewarded with a professorship and corresponding salary". So it's not just about broadening career paths, but also, for example, the content and approach of conversations between managers and employees.