Trigger warning | Service philosophy
This service is no longer available. The information on this page has been archived for reading purposes only.
Truth is hard for everyone
This website contains information that will be hard to read - for those not already thinking about it, as well as those living it. Neither of these predictable outcomes can be helped. When truth is spoken it is uncomfortable, yet truth is the path to change.
“Statistics are human beings with the tears wiped off” Paul Brodeur
For every woman recognised as having a level of knowledge that she can profess, there are three, four, five, sometimes more men [1]. In western multicultural countries like Australia, US, UK, Canada, and New Zealand, it has taken over 40 years to double the proportion of female Full Professors from 12% to 24% [2]. At the current rate of promotions and appointments, it will take more than 100 years for women to achieve equal numbers in the professoriate [3]. He gets there quicker, because the system was built for him. When a woman sees these statistics, she painfully asks herself: Is my knowledge really just not worth that much? What have I been working so hard for?
Answering these hard questions requires hard conversations about…
Sexism | Feminism | Patriarchy | Unconscious bias | Intentions / effects | Misogyny | White privilege | Intersectionality | Racism | Neoliberalism | Work-life balance | Toxic femininity | Toxic masculinity | Social justice | Mental health | Hope | Anger | Good / bad humour | Bravery | Presumed agency | Presumed competency | Exploitation | Myth of meritocracy
It is overwhelming and impossible not to take personally. It shows why we can’t privilege the pain of women in academia without alienating those with the power to change it.
Unlike its complex context, the philosophy of this service is simple…
Believe the pain. Adjust for unequal access. Calling on the help of an independent consultant who has already done all this deep thinking can boost confidence in your final decision about academic performance relative to opportunity. Time is not lost questioning the legitimacy of her knowledge or injustice. Instead, time is used to recognise her properly calibrated value and boost parity in career progression. This is more than just about the academy. When she thinks of leaving because no one really sees her, the accuracy of the world’s knowledge leaves with her.