“I’m sick of thinking if I just smile and grit my teeth I’ll get the treatment I should get. It just doesn’t work that way. So I’ve become a lot less apologetic and a lot more brash on these issues.”

— Raina Brands

I knew I wanted to talk to Professor Raina Brands when I spotted a tweet of hers last year in which she revealed that her CV contained some updated, and quite personal, information - information most of us wouldn’t reveal to an employer.

In this episode Raina discusses her project to help women ‘de-bias’ their careers, something she and her colleague Aneeta Rattan write about on their site, Career Equally. She explains what that means, why it’s important, and how we can get started. She also talks about why she decided to get personal in public and what the response has been.

You can also read a transcript of the show.

November 18, 2013

"You have to be able to concentrate and that requires a lot of time free from any other thoughts. And that means you can’t be thinking about taking the kids to the doctor, you can’t be thinking about how dirty the house is." - Aeron Haynie

"Who do you report an assault to when it’s your boss? What do you do when that’s the person who raped you?...and when you finally talk to HR they say you’re a graduate student, you’re not technically an employee, so they can’t help you.” - Kate Clancy

Kate Clancy, anthropology professor at the University of Illinois

To an outsider like me, being a professor looks like a great job (I'm thinking vigorous intellectual engagment, flexibility, and long vacations). Often it is, and not just for those reasons. But just because you work in a center of higher learning doesn't mean everything that goes on there lives up to humanity's highest ideals. From maternity leave to work/life balance to getting promotions, life in the ivory tower is often tougher for women. We look at the statistics, talk about why women are still lagging men on the employment front, and get into a sobering discussion about sexual harassment in the scientific community, which, like other STEM fields, is trying to attract more women. 15 minutes.

You can also read a transcript of the show.