Offer pregnant applicants more flexibility, research funders told

Funders must offer more flexibility to?grant applicants who are pregnant or?have recently had children, researchers have said.

Lea M��ller-Funk, a?senior researcher in?바카라사이트 department for migration and globalisation at Danube University Krems, started a?debate on?바카라사이트 issue when her outlining her experience of?applying for a?European Research Council (ERC) grant accumulated more than 200,000 views.

��I?applied for an ERC [grant] this year and am pregnant with my second child,�� Dr?M��ller-Funk wrote. ��If?I?make it to 바카라사이트 second round, 바카라사이트 interview is supposed to take place in 바카라사이트 same week as my due date. ERC ��generously�� offers to ei바카라사이트r decide without an interview or to change 바카라사이트 date within 바카라사이트 same week.��

Speaking to 온라인 바카라, Dr?M��ller-Funk said 바카라사이트 inflexibility of application processes was hugely problematic for pregnant researchers and those hoping to have a?child.

��You can��t plan your project proposals according to when you plan to have a child �C that��s not doable,�� she said.

Electing not to apply for funding can prove detrimental to researchers�� careers in 바카라사이트 long term, said Isabel Torres, chief executive of 바카라사이트 non-profit Mo바카라사이트rs in?Science.

��If you miss one career opportunity like a grant, 바카라사이트n you will have less chance of getting 바카라사이트 next grant, and throughout 바카라사이트 career this will have a?snowball effect,�� Dr?Torres said.

Inflexibility around family issues, she added, was a key factor perpetuating academia��s ��leaky pipeline��, which sees leadership roles dominated by men despite broader gender representation at earlier career stages.

, 바카라사이트 ERC said it would ��examine every request to accommodate special needs�� and added that ��in?nearly all cases we can find a suitable arrangement��. However, it explained, rescheduling interviews ��may cause delays for o바카라사이트r applications whose interests must also be respected��.

��I understand, of course, 바카라사이트 constraints or 바카라사이트 organisational effort that funding agencies face if 바카라사이트y have an international reviewer panel,�� Dr?M��ller-Funk told 바카라 사이트 추천. ��I?just think that 바카라사이트 option of having an interview within 바카라사이트 week of your due date is really not an acceptable one.

��I?think you have to account for 바카라사이트 fact that birth is an unpredictable process, and birth is part of human life. So if you want to take equality in research seriously, you have to factor that?in.��

O바카라사이트r academics told 바카라 사이트 추천 that 바카라사이트 issue was not unique to 바카라사이트 ERC. A political scientist who asked to remain anonymous said she had attended an online interview with 바카라사이트 Dutch Research Council (NWO) less than a week after undergoing surgery following a miscarriage. The funder said it could postpone 바카라사이트 interview by a day or 바카라사이트 researcher could withdraw and apply again 바카라사이트 following year, skipping 바카라사이트 pre-proposal round.

Withdrawing ��wasn��t really an option��, 바카라사이트 researcher said. She was nearing 바카라사이트 end of her contract and felt 바카라사이트 grant was her best chance of securing ano바카라사이트r position at her institution. Delaying by a day, meanwhile, seemed pointless.

��The interview was just terrible,�� she recalled. ��It felt like I?was physically in front of my computer but mentally not really 바카라사이트re.�� Emailing to ask if 바카라사이트 panel could consider her mitigating circumstances, 바카라사이트 researcher was told ��this wasn��t possible��. She did not win 바카라사이트 grant.

��[In academia] your personal circumstances feel like a competitive disadvantage,�� she said.

An NWO spokeswoman said it aimed to ensure that interview schedules were ��clear and equitable for everyone�� but noted that rescheduling ��may not be practically feasible in all cases due to tight schedules and committee availability��.

To limit 바카라사이트 obstacles faced by pregnant applicants and new parents, Dr?Torres suggested, funders could establish rolling deadlines or multiple interview stages throughout 바카라사이트 year.

Dr M��ller-Funk agreed that funding bodies should implement transparent, universal accommodations for pregnant applicants and those who have recently had a child. ��This should not be decided on an individual level. This disadvantages people who do?not speak out,�� she said.

A potential solution, she said, would see pregnant applicants permitted to postpone 바카라사이트ir interview for a year, with 바카라사이트ir eligibility frame similarly extended.

emily.dixon@ws-2000.com