In the Company of Volcanoes

- Dr. Janine Krippner How many times are women told 'family or career' ? How many times have we heard about women being treated differently because they have, or want to have, a family? We have heard that it's even a career killer . If we have kids - your career will suffer. Your kids will suffer . You will basically fail at everything . This is the message I have seen over and over again. I have a couple of issues with this. Firstly - I see women succeed at both. Secondly - I see plenty of Dads raising kids and having a career too! The old saying is that 'it takes a village to raise a child', so why do we have the stigma that women are the only ones affected by raising kids, and that it poorly affects their work? When I started discussing putting this post together I got the reply: "I know :(  I have a brilliant chemist friend & she was in tears when she told me she won't pursue a future in academia as she wants children". We need to start...

- Dr. Janine Krippner Isn’t it funny how a photo can take you back in time, to the person you were many years ago along with all of those insecurities, fears, and aspirations? I just turned 31 (I will never be ashamed to tell my age) and my Mum lovingly posted photos on Facebook that threw me into a time warp. Photos from the day I was born, through my childhood, through high school, and into my field work as a young volcanologist. I felt my face (or entire body) flush red with embarrassment at the photos out there for all to see. After a long talk to Mum (and begging her to take a couple of them down) I promised her I would find a way to make it into a positive – yes I am that person who is determined to make a positive out of pretty much anything. Everyone has a story, everyone’s stories have chapters. Some chapters are much easier or harder than others, all good stories have challenges to overcome. Each one of them leads to the people you see today. If I could go back to my 13 y...