When women in academia don’t support other women
Hi everyone,
I want to share a thought with you that might be controversial, but that has been on my mind for a long time.
In academia, women are sometimes the greatest enemies of other women.
Let me explain what I mean.
When I was a student, the women professors around me often talked about how incredibly hard it had been for them to become professors. They had fought their way through institutions that were clearly not built for them. And that struggle was real.
But what I have seen over the years, both in my own career and in the stories of colleagues and clients, is that this experience does not always translate into support for younger women entering academia.
Sometimes there is a kind of survivor narrative: I had to fight for this, so you have to fight for it too.
Sometimes it is the result of years spent navigating a patriarchal system that leaves people guarded and skeptical.
Patriarchy does not only affect men, it affects women as well.
Women are socialized in the same system, which means they can also internalize assumptions about whose contributions matter more.
A colleague recently told me about a female academic who consistently gives male students more room to speak in seminars. She praises their comments more readily. And she often does not notice when a male student mansplains a female student or takes her idea and presents it as his own.
I have also experienced moments like this in my own career. Situations where female academics questioned my work in ways that felt less like constructive feedback and more like unnecessary obstacles. I talk about these in more detail on my blog.
At the same time, I want to be very clear about something.
Not all women behave this way.
I have also worked with female scholars who are incredible mentors. Women who actively support younger scholars, open doors for them, and try to build a different academic culture.
One professor I collaborated with in recent years did exactly that. She valued the expertise I brought to the department and made a real effort to support my career. And that experience showed me that academia can also work differently.
Creating spaces where that kind of support becomes the norm is something I care deeply about.
That is also why I created the EMERGE Café, a free community where scholars from the social sciences and humanities can come together in a way that feels less toxic and less isolating than many academic environments.
If you want to experience what that looks like in practice, you are very welcome to join the Spring Writing Challenge.
From 9 to 13 March, we will meet inside the EMERGE Café for five days of workshops, co-writing sessions, and live Q&A conversations designed to help you move your work forward as a scholar.
If you have been feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or isolated in your work, this might be a good moment to try something different.
You can sign up here.
Warmly,
Melanie
