What it means to be an early career researcher as a woman of colour
For women’s history month SAGE Publishing hosted on event to highlight the experiences and obstacles of being an early career researcher as a woman of colour. The hour-long discussion helped to uncover the layers of difficulty that come with being a gendered and racialised subject in an environment that is frequently dismissive of these struggles. Sophie Chamas, Senior Teaching Fellow at SOAS began by highlighting the difficulty of being a politicised subject that cannot feasibly separate herself from the issues she’s invested in, creating a tension between the researcher and the research. Surer Mohamed, final-year PHD candidate at the University of Cambridge spoke about how being a woman of colour in academia comes with a silent burden of care and expectation of doing the work of undoing institutional problems. Invisible labour was a running theme throughout the talk, especially in the context of early career research where there is a general understanding that a lot of work needs to be done for free in order to advance your career.
The politics of knowledge production and gatekeeping were also a central issue that came up in reference to the review process and the pressure to adhere to problematic canons. This is also applicable on a global scale with Sophie pointing out that often when we talk about decolonising the curriculum we often ignore universities in the global south that could also benefit from this initiative. When asked about advice for other women of colour about to embark on a career in academia Surer emphasized the importance of community, finding your people and not being afraid to ask questions. This kind of support network is how we can learn to move forward and will also hold us accountable when it comes to our own research ethics. Sophie stressed disentangling academic success from a personal sense of self-worth, that a lot of it can be circumstantial and is not a reflection of a person’s intelligence or capacity. There was a general call for more transparency around processes, a willingness to see the problems expressed by marginalized researchers and facilitating the funding process for the students who need it the most.