Great article about the context of boys failing in education

[BasilBabyEater]

www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/soraya-chemaly/boy-crisis-in-education_b_1655282.html

A variation on the imposter syndrome maybe BFG. It wouldn't be surprising seeing as that level of education has traditionally been the preserve of men and that women generally show less confidence in their academic abilities than men.

I taught a top set GCSE class once and half the boys were off for half the lesson time each week to do a GNVQ in car maintenance or some such shit. They underachieved in science as a result.

that made me smile esp. `some such shit'

"...that's where the inequalities begin MoreBeta, even less women go onto postdocs and less go on to lecture, less to professor etc. No one seems sure why."

Er, could it be that women start having babies at just the age they need to work long hours and relocate frequently to advance an academic career? Even if they get maternity pay, they fall behind in terms of publications and it is publish or perish.

I know that's what they say Holey - but I was 25 when I finished my PhD - plenty of time (if I had wanted) to go on to do a few postdocs, get a junior lectureship and then start a family. My two friends, indeed, DID this and both lecture at top notch unis. But they are the only two women they know in that situation. I never satisfactorily got to the bottom of why. My DH says men are more ambitious for the success...

There was a TED talk by the CEO of facebook recently and she emphasised how women tend to think about starting a family and position themselves for that some years in advance. It becomes pretty obvious to any postgraduate student that, due to the long hours culture, combining academia with a young family will be hard - and that the system will also penalise them for taking maternity leave. The same applies to other jobs with long hours cultures (how many women aspire to be traders?).

If you are feeling broody at 23, the endless uncertainty of finding a few postdocs here and there is unapealling. Even if you know you are not ready to start a family, other career paths can mean you can see yourself as reaching that positon within a couple of years.

There is a huge amount of luck involved in academic success. Citations breed citations and once your name becomes known, you are cited more. If you have a family in mind, and I think women tend to think this way at an earlier age, it might be too much of a gamble.

Holey - these PhDs were a bit young for children. Mid 20ish and as professional women are having children later that does not seem to fit.

What you said about academic careers after PhD is very true though.

As highly educated professionals, they think strategically. If academia would not fit with the lives they want to have, they have less incentive to consider PhDs