PhD defence D.L. (Daphne) van Helden

Brief summary: 

In 2024, women continue to be inadequately represented in senior positions within Dutch academia. The slow progress towards gender equality in these positions is often attributed to individual factors such as ambition, motivation, and skills, or a lack thereof. However, in this thesis, I take a different perspective: career advancement depends not only on individual factors but is also shaped by factors outside one's own control. The thesis shows what male and female mid-career academics experience in terms of shaping their career according to personal preferences and needs. This is called career authenticity in research on career success. The methodological value of this research lies in its (longitudinal) qualitative approach. I followed a cohort of mid-career academics in the Netherlands over several years. According to the results of this thesis, the dynamics in career authenticity are established through an interplay of three elements: envisioning, enacting, and enabling. Doing well in terms of career authenticity requires being fluent in aligning these three Es. Male mid-careers seem to have more success in this balancing act. The conclusions of this research highlight that career authenticity cannot be simply understood as a stable characteristic of a career. It differs between academics and indeed for individual academics over time. This thesis challenges the conventional claims about the existence of the ideal linear and self-directed academic career path and shows the far-reaching career authenticity consequences of this myth.