A letter to her future self
At the age of nine, Mara Yerkes (on the left) wrote a letter to the local District Attorney to sue her school for the long lines at lunch. Not because the school meals were so great, but because the long lines gave the older children, whose lunch break started later, an opportunity to taunt the younger ones. Little did she know that thirty years later, as a professor, she would be talking to students like Kiki Evers (on the right) about her research into social inequalities in society, at work and at home. “Maybe at some point, some of them think: ‘I can also go to university and study these things.’”
Mara grew up in a small town in the United States where the elementary and high schools were connected by a common hallway and cafeteria. She vividly recalls being taunted by the older students during lunch breaks, especially if she was one of the last kids in the lunch line. “Of course, as a nine-year old, being last in line meant having less time to play outside, which I thought was really unfair,” she laughs. Her sense of injustice motivated her to write to the District Attorney, expressing her desire to sue her school for having long lines at lunch, which she believed made it easier for the older kids (whose lunch break started later) to taunt the younger kids. She didn’t know then that this early drive to challenge inequality set the stage for her future academic pursuits.
Empowered to study social dynamics
“It wasn’t just the older kids; I was also bullied at times by kids my age. When you spend your childhood worrying about what the other kids are going to say or do to you, your main focus becomes how not to get noticed. And the best way to not be noticed is to assess the situation and adjust to it, to make it look like you belong,” Mara explains. She learned to navigate different social environments by observing and understanding the behaviours of those around her. “That very much formed who I am today, both as a person and as a scientist.”
Mara Yerkes is now a Professor of Comparative Social Policy in relation to Social Inequalities at Utrecht ľϸӰ. Her research focuses on identifying disparities in various social contexts to develop more effective and equitable policies, such as what types of policies might help create more equal distributions of housework and care within families. However, her journey through academia was neither easy nor straightforward.
A journey without a map
“I wanted to study social policy and inequalities, so I rolled into a PhD position without fully knowing what I was doing,” Mara admits. “The unwritten rules of academic culture can be really challenging, especially for someone who enters academia without a traditional academic background. At the start, I would often ask myself, ‘What am I supposed to be doing? What does a PhD study look like?’ Later, these questions changed to things like ‘am I supposed to focus on sole authored publications or collaborate with others?’ There were so many unspoken expectations about doing a PhD but also about publishing, networking, securing funding and advancing in one’s career, with nobody to really show me the path,” she recalls.
Even simple things like understanding certain jargon or abbreviations can be difficult and unwelcoming to outsiders. “When I moved to Brisbane, Australia, at one of my first meetings at the ľϸӰ of Queensland, I was like ‘Can I get a list?’ They used so many abbreviations that I had no idea what half of the meeting was about,” she laughs. “And of course, you can always ask: ‘What’s that? Explain it to me.’ But then you look around and everybody seems to know what they’re talking about. You’re new in the job, worried about making an impression, so sometimes you’re just too embarrassed to ask.”
Mara’s own experience made her acutely aware of how overwhelming and discouraging these practices can be for those who are trying to find their place in academia. Since then, she’s been involved in various mentorship programmes to provide guidance to others. “Onboarding people who are new to university or those starting a PhD programme is a pretty low threshold to encourage their sense of belonging and help them realize their full potential.”
Closer to society
Mara believes that welcoming and supporting individuals with diverse perspectives and life experiences not only improves academic quality, but also ensures that research and policies are more inclusive and impactful. “When researchers from different backgrounds contribute their unique experiences, the research questions posed and the solutions proposed are more likely to reflect the complexities of real-world problems.”
According to her, staying connected to society is fundamental and should start as early as possible. As a Public Engagement Fellow, Mara felt fortunate to participate in Meet the Professor, where professors from Utrecht ľϸӰ meet primary school pupils in their classrooms. “It was a really cool way to show these children that professors are normal people, and pique their curiosity around some of the issues I study that they might see in their daily lives. ‘Who does what at your house?’ ‘Who’s cooking or unloading the dishes or bringing you to and from school, sports, or doctor’s appointments?’ ‘And if this is an unfair situation, how do governments work to make it fairer?’,” she explains. “Maybe at some point, some of them think: ‘I can also go to university and study these things.’”
The pleasure in participating, says Mara, is also about dismantling the stereotypical visions of what a scientist looks like or what you need to become one. “One kid asked me: ‘Is it true that you need to be super smart to be a scientist?’ And I said: ‘No, you don’t. You’re not born smart or stupid. You can learn so much as you go along.’ I think it’s important to show children that there are lots of things that can be achieved, despite their circumstances.”
Education: a privilege and a responsibility
Unfortunately, education is still a privilege for many. Mara remembers working with kids at an inner-city school in Minneapolis on a project about democracy and citizenship; kids with very few resources. “There was this kid who was misbehaving and acting out all the time. One day, he got really mad at me for sending him out of the room. It turned out the kid had seen his brother shoot and kill someone in a drug deal the day before. I just remember standing there and thinking that kids like him don’t have a fair shot at life. I mean, I don’t think some even make it out of high school alive, let alone make it to university,” she says, visibly affected. “I don’t think we, as academics, can fix every inequality in the world, but we have a duty to research and study those issues, and stay connected with society and the real problems they are facing. That’s also a form of inclusion.”
