We've all got to go...
Category: gender
Happy World Menopause Day?
Not all women have the menopause
Why I’m not changing my Twitter ID to include ‘Dr’
In the last 36 hours or so, lots of women I know who use Twitter (and lots of women I only know through Twitter) have added 'Dr' to their twitter handle (their Twitter ID) to make it clear that they have a PhD in some subject; thus, that they are experts. If you’re not on… Continue reading Why I’m not changing my Twitter ID to include ‘Dr’
Housework for academics
I had this feeling that the house would be a lot cleaner once I'd retired. This has proven to be completely untrue, but today I suddenly realised why. Before I reveal all, let's just think about academics and housework more generally. First, cleaners: we don't have one. Lots of my academic friends do, whether they… Continue reading Housework for academics
Redundancy in universities
(written before The Open University began its extensive voluntary severance programme in 2018, but with a few relevant additions in italics...) It's déjà vu all over again... I had a bad case of déjà vu this week, as the universities of Manchester, Aberystwyth and Sunderland announced job cuts. I went through this at Reading in 2010… Continue reading Redundancy in universities
The nightmares at the end of the long vac
Every year without fail, while I was working in the normal university sector, I had a nightmare round about now, in the last weeks before a new academic year began. It would go like this. It's the first day of term. I arrive at the university campus and head for my office. But it's not… Continue reading The nightmares at the end of the long vac
The retiring academic 