Authors Roberta Hawkins and Leslie Kern discuss how they came to write their 2024 book Higher Expectations: How to Survive Academia, Make it Better for Others, and Transform the University and how they hope that the recommendations in their book will improve academia.

Are we, as academics, sufficiently willing to engage with our colleagues on issues of ethics and behavior?  As women leaders in STEMM, how does this affect us and what are our responsibilities?    

While becoming a mother presents many challenges to a successful academic career, we should not lose sight of the potential career-related benefits for women who choose motherhood.

During a meeting in Paris last fall, we were inspired to draft A Declaration of the Rights of Women and Girls in STEMM in hopes of building a modern system that uplifts everyone.

Prof. Ulrike Beisiegel recounts how her academic career, including her many advisory roles, prepared her to be the first female President of the University of Göttingen in Germany.  

It’s not just STEMM fields that present major challenges for women in academia and systemic roadblocks to success. We need to learn from and support our sisters in the arts and humanities.

Leadership is always dynamic, never static.  Here are some ideas for how a leader can prepare for, identify, and respond effectively to emerging challenges and, ideally, turn them into opportunities.  

Former professor, retired Lieutenant General, and current entrepreneur and board member Jeffrey Talley explains how and why women in STEMM can be great leaders.  He offers his unique insight into supporting women in their leadership journeys.

Embarking upon a new leadership position is a challenging step in an academic STEMM career.  Here are some tips for getting your ‘ducks are lined up in a row’.

Dr. Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Haack describes why she chose a career in consulting after completing graduate studies and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship. She provides insight into how we can better prepare our graduates for the challenges and opportunities of careers outside of academia.

Developing strong leadership characteristics and management skills is akin to making sure you are equipped with the right shoes before embarking on a challenging but rewarding new leadership journey

While “The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World” (2019) focuses primarily on philanthropy aimed at helping poor women and families, it contains many valuable lessons for women leaders everywhere, including in academia and tech.

A Professor of Ophthalmology with decades of leadership experience in academia co-founded a Biotech start-up. She shares her career story, offering advice on leadership training, persevering, and finding the right career path.

This guest post addresses the uncomfortable reality that women sometimes engage in academic bullying of their female colleagues.

We’re taking a short summer break but will return on July 23rd. We already have some great interviews and articles lined up for the coming months. But, if you’d like to contribute a post or have suggestions of topics you’d like to hear about, please email co-editors Janet Hering and Patricia Maurice at: epistimiblog@gmail.com

Awards and professional honors are important for visibility and career advancement. We can’t win awards if we’re not nominated. So let’s make that happen.

Xiaobo ‘Sharon’ Hu, a Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, shares observations and advice based on her service as an IPA program director ‘rotator’ at the U.S. National Science Foundation

In honor of what would have been his 100th birthday, we tell the story of how one man made a huge impact on both of our careers and served as a key supporter of women in environmental science and engineering.

The “Authority Gap”, published in 2021, explored the questions of why women are taken less seriously than men and what can be done about it. This well-written and compelling book is, unfortunately, still very relevant today.