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nErvE! staff magazine for the faculty of medicine at lund university

issue 2| 2014

vänd för svenska

Gender equalityfamily life and science - do they mix?

Do dream jobs really exist?tim fieblinger

columnist

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call for columnists If you would like to be a part of a rotating group of columnists for Nerve!, then we would love to hear from you. No previous experience required. For more information email: elisabeth.dawson@med.lu.sePHOTO: Most photos

When do you know that you have

found the perfect job? I heard the

answer is pretty simple; it’s when

you find yourself wondering:

“Someone is paying me for doing

this?” According to this definition,

I am not quite there.

On the contrary I believe I belong to the large fraction of

PhD students that roll their eyes on a daily basis, moaning: “I

should be better paid!” We work long hours and weekends,

but still it feels like rushing from one deadline to another.

And lab-life is really frustrating at times: experiments don’t

work, results are unexplainable and there is always some-

body finishing the last stuff without replacing it. Even if

everything works smoothly, you are always under the critical,

sometimes envious, sometimes condescending eyes of your

peers. Doesn’t really sound like the perfect job, does it?

In fact, struggling with one’s chosen career path seems

to be the rule, more than the exception for PhD students.

Therefore it is not too surprising that almost anyone I have

met during the years, dreams of a different profession. The

dream job! It comes in all colours and sizes: starting an

own company, making big money with a “suit and tie” job,

opening an Italian restaurant or a dancing academy, becoming

a runaway musician, home-cook or voluntary doctor in some

exotic country. Dream jobs are limitless – and the perfect

alternative to the frustrating life as PhD-student. So why not

follow your dream?

If you are wondering, I am no exception either. In my

dream-job scenario, I am a writer. Sitting in a café, maybe

under the sun of Paris or Barcelona, with a glass of full-bodied

red wine and bringing sharp and controversial thoughts to

paper. Admittedly, it is a Hemingwayesque fantasy – but that

can’t be a reason not to pursue it? Sometimes I toy with

the idea to escape the frustrating experiments and crushing

peer-reviews. Sometimes I even try to figure out the first steps

to make my dream reality. Buying a writers’ laptop maybe?

Finding a suitable publishing house? Can I choose a café

for my creative writing? However, the more I try to realize

my dream, the more I feel that being a real writer isn’t that

romantic at all. In fact, isn’t it all the same again: working long

hours, rushing from deadline to deadline? Being constantly

eyed by the critical, envious and sometimes condescending

editors, peers and public?

In the end, dreams are dreams and they disappear in

reality. So what to do during the days when your job se-

ems far away from being perfect? I try to remind myself why

I chose this path to begin with: curiosity, and passion for

science. And that keeps me persisting, regardless of how they

pay me. Although… I should probably be paid more.

Tim Fieblinger, PhD student at the Department of Experimental Medical Science

news in briefNews in Brief – gives you short translated versions of some of the Swedish articles. If you want more information about any of the articles on this page, please email elisabeth.dawson@med.lu.se

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gunilla westergren- thorsson, dean

”We work purposefully and

systematically with gender

equality, equal opportunities and

diversity. There is a zero-tolerance

policy towards victimisation and

discrimination.”

The above quote is from

the faculty’s strategic plan that

we developed together during

2012. It highlights important is-

sues that are often considered to be difficult to talk about.

Nerve’s theme for this issue is gender equality, which is about

women and men sharing the same opportunities, rights and

responsibilities.

It should be obvious in 2014 that the world of academia

judges people based on their experience and knowledge,

wihout discriminating against individuals based on their

gender. But unfortunately this is not yet the case, as evidenced

by the experience of many.

That is the conclusion reached by the Delegation for

Gender Equality in Higher Education that has been working

with this issue by request from the government for the last

few years. They say that the Swedish higher education system

is still a divided arena, rife with inequality. The delegation also

says that while some progress has already been made, and will

continue to be made, it is happening far too slowly.

There is still much that needs to be done within our own

faculty. Our Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities

Committee works continuously to improve these issues.

One of the most important actions we need to take is to

“increase the knowledge of employees and students in issues of

gender equality, equal opportunities and diversity” as we say

in our strategic plan. This happens partly through seminars and

various education initiatives. During 2013, programme

directors and other staff members in management positions

took part in an education initiative that focused on the

psychosocial working environment, of which gender

equality is an important aspect. In October this year, the BMC’s

Environment, Health & Safety Committee will be hosting

a similar event for 30 young researchers at BMC. CRC are

planning to provide the same for staff in leadership positions

next year.

These are important initiatives as people in leadership

roles have an even bigger responsibility when it comes to

gender equality issues. We cannot simply work with these

issues as a side-line; we have to integrate them naturally into

all staff members’ daily working lives. The heart of this issue

is to give everyone the same opportunities to develop, and to

use the experience and knowledge found within our faculty

in the best possible way. This will benefit not only individual

staff members, but also the faculty’s research and education

programmes.

Gender equality 2014

global caféGlobal Café is an event for PhD students held every 3rd Thursday of the month. The first event, held on 24 April, was a great success. Each event will feature a guest speaker to address topics such as

applying for grants and possible career progression. There is always an opportunity to ask questions and to mingle. For future dates, please visit www.med.lu.se/intramed/globalcafe

gender equality in sweden’s academia“Gender discrimination within academia is sophisticated, re-fined and lurking beneath the surface, which often makes it difficult to address.” So says a re-cently published research report from the Delegation for Gender Equality in Higher Education (in Sweden). It states that women are often given more ‘career hindering’ responsibilities such as administrative tasks and teaching assignments, but that the

ideal view of a researcher as a career-focused man is shifting to a more cooperative researcher who tries to achieve a work-life balance. Anna Maria Drake, Vice Dean at the Faculty of Medi-cine, thinks much of the responsibility around gender equality lies with those in management roles, and that they must feel comfortable talking about these issues during, for example, development meetings.

fighting talk from the editorNerve’s Editor- in-Chief, Sofia B Liljedahl, is not afraid to speak her mind on the topic of gender equality, but found that many of those she approached for this issue were not willing to be quite as outspoken. It is outrageous, she says, that we are still batt-ling these issues in 2014, and that we are also still unable to talk openly about the

problem. Sofia urges everyone to take more personal respon-sibility in fighting gender inequality, so that our children or grandchildren can grow up in a society that doesn’t care if you are a boy or a girl. It’s time to speak up!

PHOTO: Charlotte Carlberg Bärg

theme: gender equality

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why did you start steP uP?“Like many other young scientists I wanted to conquer the

world, but didn’t know how to go about it. I saw that there

was a definite need for a network where young women

researchers could share experiences and help each other find

information and opportunities. Step Up is a network that does

just that. When we realised that the Faculty of Science already

had a similar network in place – WINGS – we decided to join

forces. We now work together and hold one big Step Up

event each year, as well as a yearly conference, and organise

a wide range of seminars, workshops and courses. I was also

recently appointed coordinator for WINGS, and this is the

first time someone not from the Faculty of Science has held

that position.”

why is the network imPortant?“Studies have shown that while women make up half of the

PhD student population, we become much more difficult to

find at professor level. This needs to change.

I have never experienced direct gender discrimination in my

workplace, and I know that not everyone is so lucky, but the

overall structure of the organisation still needs to become

more permissive to ensure equality and equal opportunity.

Networks like Step Up and WINGS are great resources for

women to meet likeminded people and get the support they

need to develop their careers.

In our environment it’s easy to feel isolated, so it’s important

to get out of the lab once in a while and meet people.

Our events are the perfect excuse to do so – providing an

opportunity to meet some great female role models and

mentors at the same time.”

what else needs to be done?“There is already a great level of engagement from the faculty

management team around gender equality issues, but there’s

always more to be done. But I think it’s difficult to generate

the changes necessary with only a top down approach. We

need more people to get involved at all levels of the organisa-

tion. And for the faculty leadership to give more support to

networks like WINGS and Step Up.

It’s also up to the individual to seek out the support they

need. If you can’t find it, start something yourself, or contact

an existing network like WINGS to see if we can help.

text: elisabeth dawson

Change from the bottom up!A couple of years ago Linnéa Taylor, Postdoc at the Department of Clinical Sciences in Lund, started ‘Step Up!’ – a yearly networking event for female PhD students and Postdocs at the Faculties of Medicine, Science and Engineering. nerve spoke with her to find out more.

FOTO: Maren Wellenreuther

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theme: gender equality

Jimmie and Anna met in 1999 in the emergency room where they both worked as nurses. Anna was already in the middle of doing her PhD at the department now known as Health Sciences, while Jimmie had yet to start his.

”I was mostly in it to wear heels and make money, while

Jimmie wanted to be a researcher in order to improve the

health care system and help people. How pretentious!” Anna

says jokingly.

They both feel it’s important to have their own lives.

They don’t sit together during coffee breaks, and want to be

seen as two individual researchers with separate circles. The

downsides of sharing the same profession are that they are

often up against the same deadlines, and things that don’t

work so well affect them both. The benefits are that they

share the same basic values and have a great understanding

for each other’s working conditions.

”When I say ’I know how you feel’, I really do know

how it feels. You can appreciate successes and understand

challenges in a whole different way.” says Anna.

They think Lund University is in many ways a wonderful

workplace that allows employees a great deal of freedom and

opportunities to grow and develop.

“I have a big need for stability, continuity and harmony

in my working life, whereas Anna wants a challenging and

dynamic workplace. This means we naturally end up in

different situations. It’s fantastic to have found a place where

we can both be happy and have our professional needs met.”

Jimmie says.

However, they believe many university employees

wrongly interpret freedom to mean they should get to decide

everything for themselves.

”That isn’t the case. But there is plenty of room for

flexibility. You can go for the early swimming lessons, and

instead work when the kids have gone to bed.” Jimmie

suggests.

They have a clear system when it comes to working from

home. Each month they go through their calendars and write

down the days when they have to be in the office, even if one

of the kids is sick – they call these ‘veto’ days. If there is no

veto in place on any given day, they take turns staying home

when necessary. They have also divided up the weeknights,

each taking responsibility for two nights. This means that

every other day one of them can work late, go to the gym or

make other plans without feeling guilty.

“The kids shouldn’t feel that their gender determines

what responsibilities or opportunities they have. We want

them to see that both parents can stay at home and cook

dinner, go to the shops or the gym, or wherever.” Anna says.

Jimmie believes that women are under a lot of pressure

when it comes to gender equality issues, but men are also

A healthy approach

”I don’t want to sound like an idealist, but it’s much easier to live together if you share.”

Parental benefits in swedenIf you are employed in Sweden, or have been a resident for more than one year, you will in most cases be eligible for parental benefits from Försäkringskassan.Both parents have an equal right to parental benefits; there is no bias towards giving either parent a bigger share of the benefit allowance. PhD students – speak to your HR coordinator to find out what applies to you.

Parental leave:Parents are jointly given 390 days for parental leave with income-based compensation, and 90 days at the basic level. You can share the days as you choose, but 60 days of income-based compensation are reserved for each parent. There is an ‘equality bonus’ for parents who share their days more equally than the minimum requirement.

caring for a sick child (vab)Parents are entitled to 120 days temporary parental benefit (jointly, per child, per year) to care for a sick child. You can alternate who stays home within one illness period, but both of you cannot receive benefits for the same day.

TIP! View and synchronise VAB calendars with your partner on Försäkringskassan’s website to see whose turn it is to stay home.

more information about parental benefits: www.forsakringskassan.se

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theme: gender equality

Jimmie Kristensson: born 1976, Nurse, PhD, Research AssistantAnna Kristensson Ekwall: born 1974, Ambulance Nurse, Associate Professor, LecturerChildren: Manne 9, Ellen 6, Idde 3Workplace: Department of Health Sciences

pressured into conforming to male stereotypes, e.g. being

more available for work – even while taking care of sick

children at home.

“But you can no longer base a successful research career

on working 80-hour weeks and planning your projects around

the premise that everyone is available all of the time. Most

of us won’t win the Nobel Prize. Instead, we want to build a

career that fits around a well-functioning home life. “ Jimmie

says.

Jimmie tries to avoid situations where he is subjected to

positive discrimitation as a male nurse. Anna was told that it

was a shame for the kids when it was Jimmie’s turn to take

parental leave.

“Such criticism of the mother is also a criticism of the father. Is

Jimmie not able to care for his children? The fact that I don’t

suffer a guilty conscience can also provoke many women.

But why should I feel guilty? There are two of us doing the

parenting.”

text and Photo: åsa hansdottertranslation: elisabeth dawson

Anna Ekwall Kristensson och Jimmie Kristensson with their children Ellen and Idde. Manne wasn’t home for the photo shoot.