Professor Mistaken For Secretary

As a ‘young’ female professor in my late thirties I went to the central research office to personally hand in a research project application file on the day of the deadline (a walk around the corner from my office). The (female) secretary behind the counter looked at the file and said to me: “Is Prof. […]

Academic or Slut?

In the first month of my post as a newly appointed lecturer, the Director of Research invited me to lunch to discuss new projects, then, half way through, he lent over, touched my leg and asked me if I was a slut. Story signed by : Frances This story happened to me as a Prof. […]

Cakes and Hugs

In a meeting with a head of the department, a female professor was told that she should be Senior Tutor as she is ‘all cakes and hugs’ while a male colleague should be in charge of strategy. There is no evidence that this male colleague has any previous experience of strategy. Story signed by : […]

A Mother Should Be With Her Kids At Home

I was doing my postdoc abroad, and became pregnant for the second time.I met a former postdoc of that lab, and she said “ah, I heard you’re going to leave science?”. I was surprised because I never told anyone that was my plan, so I asked where she got that idea. It turned out my […]