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  • CAREER COLUMN

An academic mother’s wish list: 12 things universities need

There are many ways to create an inclusive workplace, say Julia Leventon, Katy Roelich and Lucie Middlemiss.
  1. Julia Leventon

    1. Julia Leventon is a junior professor in sustainability science at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg in Germany, leads a research group on governance of place and is mum to a 2.5-year-old boy and a 9-month-old girl.

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  2. Katy Roelich

    1. Katy Roelich is an associate professor of sustainability at the University of Leeds, UK, co-leads a research group on energy and climate-change mitigation and is mum to a 3-year-old boy.

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  3. Lucie Middlemiss

    1. Lucie Middlemiss is an associate professor of sustainability, co-directs the Sustainability Research Institute at the University of Leeds and is mum to two boys, aged 4 and 7 years.

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We co-host a blog called Mama is an Academic, which deals with the challenges of maintaining an academic career while raising children. Inspired by our own experiences as academic mums, we aimed to share the trials, tribulations and, of course, successes that come with balancing parenting and work. Being a mother poses very specific challenges to maintaining an academic career, which tends to require complete immersion in ideas, and rewards obsessive and relentless hard work. It often entails international travel and success rests in the balance of securing that all important permanent position. Combining these demands with the all-consuming role of motherhood can seem overwhelming.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-00019-x

Check out the blog Mama is an Academic.

This is an article from the Nature Careers Community, a place for Nature readers to share their professional experiences and advice. Guest posts are encouraged. You can get in touch with the editor at naturecareers@nature.com.

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