Abstract
Abstract I am a professor at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. I trained in chemistry in Sweden but went to the USA for my postdoc. I remained there for 12 years, being faculty at two American universities, before I returned to Sweden for a professorship in the northern city of Umeå. More recently, I returned to my alma mater Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, where I have taken on senior leadership roles. On paper, my career trajectory looks straightforward, but there are many detrimental aspects and lucky coincidences that are not listed on my CV. Life in academia is never easy, and one is never ‘done’. But working in academia is wonderful, as it provides so much freedom and creativity, including being very accommodating towards having kids. Here, I will describe my own personal journey, with the hope of inspiring young women to follow their own path in academia. Yes, there is still bias against women in academia, but change is happening, and the many benefits of being an academic beat such drawbacks.
Highlights
It is not often you can write about yourself and your thoughts
I have a rare chance to do so, and I am taking it! Here, I will describe my academic career path, including aspects that one cannot read in my CV, which resulted in me eventually reaching the position I have today
In 1976, when I was 8 years old, my dad got his PhD in inorganic chemistry and we moved to Gothenburg where my dad got a position at a welding company
Summary
It is not often you can write about yourself and your thoughts. But I have a rare chance to do so, and I am taking it! Here, I will describe my academic career path, including aspects that one cannot read in my CV, which resulted in me eventually reaching the position I have today. I will describe my academic career path, including aspects that one cannot read in my CV, which resulted in me eventually reaching the position I have today. Not even professors; there are always worries and roadblocks on one’s path. I have engaged a lot in gender equality issues and I run a big initiative on my campus. Doing this work means I read a lot of scientific studies on the topic and I hear many sad stories from female faculty and students. Here, I want to spell out positive aspects of being in academia. After describing my career path and my research, I will discuss gender issues, having kids and some personal challenges that never show up on one’s CV There are many! After describing my career path and my research, I will discuss gender issues, having kids and some personal challenges that never show up on one’s CV
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