Q&A: PhD and pregnancy

Recently, I received the following question from a reader (edited for anonomity):

Dear Eva, I recently came across your Book and blog. I am finishing my master Somewhere and starting to apply to PhD positions in NL for directly after my graduation. My ambition is to become a Senior researcher in My Field.
However, there is a big dilemma of combining career and family. I have a wonderful Partner and want to build a family with him. I am 24 y.o. for now and I want to have my first child maximum by 26 yo (as I am afraid my health isn't so perfect to try when I'm older). Here comes my question: Can I be pregnant while doing a PhD? Can an employer fire me for that? Can I ask for 3 month vacation (July, August, September) for delivering a child? If I quit the program after first appointment (of 18 month), will I be able to continue later, and start from where I stopped but in another project?
Your advice would be very valuable for planning my life.

I replied her as follows:

Dear Reader,

Thank you for reaching out to me through my blog, and for sending me your question with regard to pregnancy and motherhood during your PhD. I’m glad to read that you have a good relationship with your partner, and that you are planning your future together.

Considering your situation, you should pay attention to the type of contract that your future promotor offers you together with a PhD position. In the Netherlands, there are two types of contracts. The first type is a contract with university, where you become an employee of the university. With this contract, you are protected by the “CAO Nederlands Universiteiten” (collective labor agreement of the Dutch universities), you pay taxes, you save for your retirement, and you have social security. The second type of contract would be based on a scholarship. This type of contract is more common for students who come from abroad with funding of their home university. Their funding includes a stipend for living expenses, but it is not consider a regular employment, so no social security and saving for retirement. In your case, make sure you inform with HR about the type of contract they would be offering you.

If you have an employee contract with a university, you will have 16 weeks of pregnancy and maternity leave to deliver your baby – whenever your baby is coming (not necessarily over the summer months). It’s absolutely illegal for an employer to fire you because you are pregnant. It is your choice and right to become a mother when the time is right for you. For many women, the right time is during their PhD. A former colleague of mine had both children during her PhD, and my best friend had her first child during her PhD.

Of course, it all depends on your personal situation to say when is the right time to have a child. For many women, having a child during the PhD years is a good option, and in all cases I know, the months of pregnancy and maternity leave where added to the length of the PhD contract, so you don’t lose time. For the tenure track years, things are a little less well-organized, I understood. That means that the second best option would be to wait until you have tenure – but say you start your PhD at 23, graduate at 27 (earliest possible), two years of post-doc (29), and four years of tenure track (33), then you see that you end up in your mid-thirties. For some women this is the right time, for others, it is not.

I’m not sure what you mean with your question about quitting after 18 months. You could always do this, and try to publish a journal article on the work you did during that time, but if you have to restart later in a different project, perhaps with a different supervisor, you will need to start from zero again. This situation happens when funding for a project does not come through, or when student and supervisor don’t get along, and the student decides to go elsewhere. I don’t see motherhood as a reason for having to start over new somewhere else.

Additionally, for some advice on combining a PhD with motherhood, you can check out this post

Wishing you all the best in finding a PhD position and with your personal life,
Eva

The road to breaking bridges and stereotypes

I was recently asked to give a presentation about myself and my scientific successes at WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) at Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
Talking about myself is not really my strength - I ended up spending way more time on putting this presentation together than what I spend on a typical research presentation. Toothing my own horn is just not my thing. So I decided to tell my story as an academic nomad, and to infuse it with bits and pieces of my adventures in music, and to report on the gender imbalances at the different universities where I studied.

The final result, a presentation titled "The road to breaking bridges and stereotypes", is here:

The road to breaking bridges and stereotypes from Eva Lantsoght

The Case for Arrogance

Today I have the pleasure of hosting 3rd year social science PhD student at a prominent university in the United States, who would like to remain anonymous.

During the last week of a frigid New York February, I walk home from a party with a friend who is in her second year of a doctoral program. Her concerns are familiar: depression, a fear of being alone, a sense of isolation and loneliness from her classmates, and a vague, nagging, terrific disorientation. We joke that we're in relationships with our computers, hauling them along in some way on every task from work to recreation to spiritual wind-down. While our concerns touch on issues of PhD self care, our laughter acknowledges something more existential: a despair that the women I know seem to encounter in PhD-land and with which my male associates seem blithely unacquainted. What is it about being in a doctoral program that triggers in women this special type of depression? What about it flies in the face of everything we have been taught and at the same time reinforces so many of our most deeply programmed beliefs?

Especially for the older student (i.e., one who has not come straight from college), doctoral programs are a paradox, a constant sense of responsibility paired with ambiguity. On the one hand, you're a student, with enormous tasks ahead of you to demonstrate your competencies; on the other hand, you are chosen, someone who the department already decided was exceptional and worthy of the presumption that you can and will contribute unique ideas to your field. On the one hand you are an adult with adult friends, relationships, responsibilities, concerns, and physical limitations. On the other hand, you are a student, a mentee, and in the eyes of some, in some ways, a child.

Expectations of women in the working world are a similar paradox. On the one hand, we were told we were adults and were responsible for our own futures; on the other hand, we were told our bodies made us vulnerable to danger and that we must be protected at all times. For those of us who have always been "good" students, we found this a very comfortable way to be female. We knew we were successful because of the praise we got, and could find familiarity and even comfort in the ever-present potential to do even better. Putting ourselves down was a means of connection. A woman who is smart but a little under-confident is charming and worthy of attention; a woman who is smart, arrogant, and irreverent, however, is dangerous and unattractive. So we kept our egos and above average intellects in check, never wanting to threaten our status or anyone else's. We even came to enjoy this complicated mixture of success and self-deprecation that formed an endless cycle of seeking approval and doubting it.

The PhD process, with all its ambiguities and high expectations, serves as an alien environment to these habits of mind. The intellect is not a tool for gaining the approval of others; to the contrary, it must become the voice of the ego. In other words, it must say not, "Here is what I know, that you may accept it," as we said so often in grade school and college. In the PhD program, the intellect must say, RI exist, so my truth is legitimate.S This intellect-as-ego is not the reason many women succeed in or enjoy succeeding in school: usually, it is our ability to anticipate what is expected of us and to meet that expectation that leads to successful academic performance for females.

And unsurprisingly, even as we are held to these new emotional expectations, we are still treated in many ways as less valuable than our male colleagues. The pressures placed upon us by spouses and children are dismissed by our advisors because, as modern women, we are expected to demonstrate commitment to career by setting aside everything else. Our male classmates receive close tutelage from our male professors, who keep their distance from us lest relations become uncomfortably close and unseemly. Most of all, and most insidiously, the key to academia is arrogance, and we as women are never taught to be arrogant. We may even be chastised for it, told explicitly or implicitly to back off, to not push so hard.

Going into my proposal defense, I was anxious and nervous about what questions my chair and external readers, all men, might ask me. I did nothing intellectually or academically to prepare; I'd worked all semester on this document and knew there was nothing more I could do to it. I just focused on speaking with gusto until I heard some semblance of an answer come out of my mouth, and then I stopped talking and waited for the next question. My professors could have poked holes in my defense for hours and decided not to pass me; I truly believe it was my bravado, as much as my reasoning, that inspired their confidence. As a feminist, I believe in plurality and provide space for my undergraduates to disagree. But in that defense, my goal was to not be defeated.

PhD benchmarks are called "defenses" because they test the tenacity to insist that one's own reasoning -one's own piecing together of data and theory to make a new set of knowledge- is better than anyone else's. Instead of telling the female doc student that she will succeed because she is smart, tell her she will succeed because she is tenacious, that she is dogged, that she is strong and self-assured. Remind her that the seeds of those necessary characteristics, like the ability to write consistently and persistently, are in her, and she will make them grow. We want our female academics to be fierce scholars, who don't get caught up in the throes of their own egos and can put all of their energy into identifying and advocating cures to society's ills. We want them to come to each other not to hide and cry, not to be reassured by each other's vulnerability. We want them coming to each other -and to us- full of their brilliant ideas, full of themselves.

Q&A: Career and gender advice

It's time for a (long overdue) Q&A again! Some time ago (I'm sorry it took so long for me to write this post!), I received the following email (I left out some details that could point to the identity of the writer):

I have just found your blog and I am starting to read. I don't know exactly why, by I want to directly write to you a message.
I am from XXX and from this academical year I am PhD student on my University . But the true is I have always dreamed to do the PhD but abroad. But after this one year hear I am really worry about the future, the work possibility or since career. I haven't got any foreign trainee or something like that, so I don't know how it looks there, maybe in Country X the possibility after the PhD especially for the woman aren't good? I want to go abroad because I think it is batter for my language and experience, I don't have a husband or kids:P so I can travel, during this year my family have needed me closer, that the reason I have stayed here, but know I want to go ahead.
Do you have any advices? What do you think about PhD for woman, after finished it? Its possible to combine it in the future with child, family so on?? (On my University I know the women=the mums = the good sciences, but I see that for men a lot of things are easily and they can achieve more in the shortest time.... but on the other hand I am used to say, impossible is nothing;))
How is your feelings?

Let me break down this message into a number of sub-questions:

1. Should I go abroad for my PhD?

I'm quite a fan of going around to different places, as I've studied in 3 different countries. Quite some time ago, I've written a post about why you should consider to study abroad.

But does that necessarily mean you have to spend you entire PhD in another country? Since you have indicated that your family needed your closer this year, you've made -I think- a good decision in staying close to them. Imagine if you'd be abroad, spending most of your time trying to Skype home, and freaking out every time they don't pick up the phone because you're fearing the worst?

There's many other ways in which you can have an experience abroad, outside of your home university during your PhD. You can visit a lab or research group you work with abroad, for a few months. You can try to attend a good number of conferences to build you international network. You can try to learn as much as possible from international members in your thesis committee. You can attend a specialized course at another university. You can go for a summer school abroad.

2. I'm afraid the possibilities for a career with a PhD in my home country are not good.

It can be difficult everywhere, if you think along the traditional lines of PhD - postdoc - tenure track - professorship. It gets even more difficult if you are tied to a certain geographic region, and if you'd have a partner who is also trying to follow this path.

Nonetheless, when I wrote my post about finding a job after the PhD, I got quite a number of reactions from people who went into different career paths outside of academia, enthusiastically sharing how they are enjoying their new career, and how they benefit from their PhD training even though they did not stay in academia.

More important than anything else with regard to the career prospects after your PhD: make sure you enjoy the journey of your PhD. Make sure you revel in the fun of science, and enjoy the learning process. What comes next, well, in the end, who knows? I don't think you should do a PhD because you want to become a professor. I think a better reason is because you simply love what you are doing. If you ride on that wave, who knows on which shore you'll wash upon...

3. How can you combine a career in science with a family?

I didn't take time in between my degrees to go to industry, but studied one degree after another, and graduated relatively young. At the moment my "family" consists of a husband and a cat, and both are pretty easy to look after ;-)

However, I don't think a career in science and/or academia is harder to combine with a family than any other career, provided that you work full-time. Some universities in some countries may be more forward-thinking in helping out parents (for example, having affordable day-care at the university), but for most young parents, it's quite a puzzle to solve.

Even though it might sound challenging, there are plenty of great academics out there who are showing that it is possible to combine their career and family. One of my favorite blogs is ran by Dr. Golash-Boza, who successfully combines her academic career and family (and so much more). Blogs like hers make me wonder if those professors who (claim to) work up to 120 hours a week are any more productive than somebody who works 40 (or a bit more)... From my own experience, I've learned that I need to mix things up and divide my attention to non-work-related topics (such as blogging) to keep a clear mind and avoid having my thoughts running in circles.

Storify on Gender in Academia

In a recent post, I tried to call everybody on board for the STEM fields - everybody who is interested in these studies, regardless of their gender, religion, age, social status, and other differentiations we might make among people. But while attempting to get my message across, I started with a capital mistake - excusing myself beforehand because I don't know enough about the topic to speak up. I didn't even notice I started the race by shooting myself in the foot.

Luckily, I got a reaction on Twitter to draw my attention to the fact that we all should speak up and shine brightly - and this remark was the start of an interesting Twitter conversation:

Where are all the women in science?

Last year, The New York Times published an important article asking "Why Are There Still So Few Women in Science?". If you haven't read it then, go ahead and read it (I'm even keeping my post extra short today, so you can go and read this post - go figure!).

I don't have the data of USFQ, where I spend most of my time during the year, but I found the data of TU Delft for 2012:



In this graph, the following abbreviations are used:
HL = hoogleraar = full professor
UHD = universitair hoofd docent = associate professor
UD = universitait docent = assistant professor
OWP = overig wetenschappelijke personeel = other research staff
PROM = promovendi = PhD students

And, as you can guess, the blue share are the male scientists, and the turquoise ones are the female scientists.

As I discussed before, the Netherlands have one of the lowest ratios of female professors in Europe. "Why?" is an important question here - with all the challenges we are facing, we need all hands and brains on deck in science to serve society, in my opinion.

I don't have the answers to this question, nor a solution on how to change this skewed statistic. But in the meantime, I'd like to nudge all female scientists out there and invite them to lean in, and openly ask why we are so few.

Why are there so few women tenured professors?

Sheryl Sandberg asks: "Why are there so few women leaders.", and in academia, we wonder: "Why are there so few women tenured professors?".

I'm not qualified to give an answer to this question - and the answer itself is rather complex. But nonetheless, I think we need to ask this question, out and loud - and challenge the status quo.

Given all the challenges our world is facing, we need all brains on board to try and solve the riddles of today.
We can't afford to discourage young girls to go into STEM fields. We can't afford to discourage bright undergraduate women from continuoing onto graduate school.

And for those of us who opted for a career in science and feel sometimes awkward in a room full of grey-haired men: you are not alone. Tenure, She Wrote published a brilliant article recently. Isolation is part of this game.
But let that not be a reason to drop out. Instead, let's Lean In.

How Successful Women Balance Work and Life

Today, we are looking at the topic of balance and employment. Work-life balance and staying sane in graduate school are topics that I write about frequently here at PhD Talk, so I was glad when Ashley Jones pitched me for a guest post on combining work and life. While this post is tailored to women, I think the ideas in here are valid for all of us - regardless of our gender

As women move through their live, the approach to finding a balance between work and life is becoming an important issue in contemporary life. Women are rightfully taking on many of the most demanding occupations that society can offer and as a result are increasingly responsible for a majority of the most difficult jobs in the country.

Among this subset of skilled workers, women with doctoral degrees are particularly accustomed to work schedules that leave little time for personal space and reflection. Accordingly, it may be of benefit to list just some of the ways that successful women are striking balances between their careers and their personal lives.

1. Meditation
Long an activity that stood at the forefront of Eastern philosophies, meditation is now recognized by many health professionals as an engaging way to promote self-care. By reducing rumination and other forms of anxious thinking, meditation is a particularly apt way for successful women to direct the watercraft of their days into calmer waters. Numerous practitioners of meditation find that the activity becomes an anchor of calm in their busy lives and leads to a greater sense of focus and overall health. Whether done by oneself or with the help of experts, meditation is only likely to gain more followers in the future.

2. Creative Work
Even when free-time can seem limited, finding a few minutes a day to do creative work can be a major way to promote a work-life balance. For example, writing fiction or personal essays can provide an outlet for experience that can feel immensely rewarding; even finding an hour a day to write can bring numerous benefits. Other forms of creative work such as painting and sculpture can also provide relief from the stresses of work and create a sense of happiness and satisfaction both on and off the job.

3. Life-long Learning
Learning about new ideas in life doesn't have to stop once a doctoral thesis is finished. Finding area colleges that offer evening or weekend classes are great ways to keep the mind sharp and skills current. By choosing a subject that’s unfamiliar but interesting, successful women can often find that while knowledge is always changing, learning is a life-long process. As a means for socializing, taking classes can also introduce non-traditional students to new friends and even mentors. For many people, a love of learning can become a daily practice even after they’re experts in a field.

4. Love of Travel
Sometimes learning to take time for oneself is among the most important lessons anyone can gain in life. For example, taking a period of time to examine another country will often teach a person more about different cultures than anything else, and travel can often act as a sort of deep breath from our careers. As a field of interest, travel has become one of the most popular ways to understand ourselves and others, and its proponents often wouldn't trade the experiences they've gained in foreign countries for the world.

Ashley Jones is the author of many articles with resources for professional women. Her recent work is on the Best Online Master of Science in Education (MSEd) Degree Programs for women who want to work while learning

Vrouwennetwerk 2.0

This post is in Dutch - in short: I'm heading to Universiteit Utrecht to give a workshop on (micro)blogging for PhDs and Post-Docs on November 8th.

Het Vrouwennetwerk van de Universiteit Utrecht organiseert op 8 november aanstaande haar tweejaarlijkse netwerkdag. Alle medewerkers van de Universiteit Utrecht zijn uitgenodigd om kostenloos deel te name, mits inschrijving (plaatsen zijn beperkt). Het belooft een ontzettend interessante dag te worden, dus als je in Utrecht zit, kom zeker langs!

Het programma
9.00u - 10.00u: Inloop, inschrijving, kennismaken, netwerken, koffie en thee
10.00u -10.30u: Introductie door het Vrouwennetwerk. Probeer een laptop mee te brengen
10.30u - 12.00u: Interactieve Lezing + discussie
12.00u -12.15u: Digitaal intermezzo
12.15u - 13.45u: Lunch, infoplaza, uitwisselen en netwerken
14u – 15.30u: Zes workshops, waaruit je kunt kiezen
15.30u – 16.00u: Thee/koffie
16.00u – 18.00u: “2.0 doen”, gelegenheid tot netwerken, borrelen, dat alles met een gezellige
muzikale omlijsting door salonduo 'La bohème'

Workshop: "(Micro)Bloggen voor PhDs en Post-docs."
Waarom is het interessant om als wetenschapper te bloggen en tweeten? In deze workshop kijken we naar een aantal verschillende aspecten: hoe je(micro)bloggen kan gebruiken om je (online)(inter)nationaal netwerk uit te bouwen, hoe je jezelf en je onderzoek zichtbaar kan maken, maar ook over wat je kan weerhouden om een blog te starten.
Via een korte tutorial kijken we ook naar het praktische aspect. Het doel is om tot een omlijnd idee te komen over welke onderwerpen en waar je aan de slag kan met (micro)bloggen.
Door ir. Eva Lantsoght, PhD student TUDelft. Blogt op phdtalk.blogspot.com over haar onderzoek, over promoveren en de niet-wetenschappelijke vaardigheden die daarbij aan bod komen, en overige onderwerpen zoals reizen en kunst. Twitter: @evalantsoght

Diversity

Today, during lunch, I attended a presentation on the diversity policy of TU Delft, and here's a quick overview of what struck me most:

- Even though the Netherlands is one of the most progressive and developed countries around, it has among the lowest percentages of female professors in the European Union (Belgium was even one place lower in that ranking).

- There was a lot of information on the Delft Fellowship for female academics, in an attempt to attract talented researched. It's aimed at researchers who have spent a few years in industry or as a post-doc, outside of the TU Delft. And this "outside of the TU Delft" seems to stir quite some discussion (should we give our research positions to foreigners?). And do we even need a fellowship which is only for women?

- Who reaches the top? White, male, Dutch academics who studied at TU Delft.

I still need to think about these issues, put it all into the context of my personal experience, and then I'll have an opinion on it. But as of now, I just find it an interesting topic.