Hall of Femmes

(1) What I love about my current job is...
...the diversity of my work: from teamwork and consulting to knowledge transfer, networking and research. I also love being able to travel for work and work from home.

(2) I’ve long been passionate about...
...gender equality, the gender-based division of labour, social upheaval (economisation, digitalisation of work).

(3) One of the highlights of my career so far has been...
...International conferences, such as the ISA Congress in Yokohama (Japan), the WORK conferences in Turku (Finland) and the Gender, Work & Organisation Conference in Keele (UK), have always been highlights for me. Also successfully securing new positions: the interim Sociology of Education professorship, my admission to Paderborn University’s Wissenschaftskolleg “Data Society” (Institute for Advanced Study) and now, very recently, my role as Team Lead at the Centre of Excellence Women and Science (CEWS) at the Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences (GESIS) in Mannheim.

(4) When I look back on my career to date, I’d say that what has particularly shaped me has been...
...each stage of my career, and my fellow students and colleagues who’ve left their mark on me at each stage. However, my degree at Bielefeld University and doctorate at Paderborn University, along with my mentors Professor Ursula Müller and Professor Birgit Riegraf, respectively, have without doubt had the greatest impact on me – in particular in terms of subject matter, theories and focal points, which I continue to work with today. I’d like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to them!

(5) I believe that female role models are important in university and professional life today because...
...there’s a need for role models and experiences, as well as discussion about what everyday life in academia can be like. And because academia needs to change, to become more open and a place for all (!) bright minds.

(6) I’d advise any young women wishing to pursue a career similar to mine to...
...Unfortunately, an academic career is difficult to plan for and comes with a whole host of risks, such as not receiving any further funding or not living in the same place as where you work. You therefore need to be extremely open-minded, have a high frustration threshold and a good inner compass to reassure you that you’re on the right path. You also need to be confident that all your hard work and perseverance and the expertise you’ve gained will pay off sooner or later.

(7) For me, gender equality will be achieved when...
...there’s no longer any systematic discrimination; when thinking about equality is a matter of course for everyone (!) and when everyone (!) can laugh about the fact that they used to argue about equality targets and how to achieve them!

(8) I associate my time at Paderborn University with...
...friendly co-operation, collaboration at all levels, the great cafeteria, fun faculty meetings, intensive debates with students about the meaning of science and education, as well as gender equity policy, the social construction of gender and the meaning of “work” and what is considered “productive”!

(9) For the next 50 years, I wish Paderborn University...
...to see its faculties come more closely together for debate and discussion in order meet the big social challenges even more successfully: the climate crisis, inclusion in education, digitalisation, sustainability and gender equity.