Wednesday 14 September 2022, 2pm AEST (Sydney time)
DR JENNI HOPKINS, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON - TE HERENGA WAKA
“Why is having a family as a female academic such a difficult decision?”
About the talk
When I give this seminar I will be into the third trimester of my first pregnancy, and I wanted to research the answer to this question that has challenged me over a number of years. Studies have shown consistently that having children will impact female academics in all aspects of their career to a significant level in comparison to their male counterparts. In this seminar I will (1) discuss the challenges I have faced within the academic system in New Zealand; (2) outline from the literature how, why, and what the globally recognised impacts are (some that are obvious, others than are not so); and (2) consider ways in which this is, or could be mitigated. We will end with a discussion where I would like to open the floor to hear other people’s experiences, questions for the group, or recommendations.
Dr Jenni Hopkins is a Lecturer in Environmental Science at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Jenni is originally from the UK but came to NZ in 2011 to complete her PhD on the Auckland Volcanic Field. After completing her PhD, she has worked on numerous fixed-term post-doc projects. Her research focus is in tephrochronology, volcanology and geochemistry.