Parents and caregivers: an interview with Aimée Sakes and DirkJan Veeger
Nieuws
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09 oktober 2023
Family caregiving is part of the fabric of life. Many scientists, both male and female, have children or are starting a family at the same time as maintaining and building a career. Juggling teaching, publishing, finding a new (or permanent) job, relocating, attending conferences, and actually doing research sometimes requires more hours in the day than exist. So, how do colleagues combine this with parenting? Where do they find support? And what can the organisation do to create a more inclusive working environment where parents can grow and flourish in their careers?
DEWIS is talking with scientists with caregiving responsibilities, and we aim to start a dialogue around how we can make changes within the TU Delft to support those scientists who are also parents.
In this interview we talk with Aimée Sakes, Assistant Professor at the Department of Biomechanical Engineering at the Faculty of 3mE and her supervisor Professor DirkJan Veeger at the Department of Biomechanical Engineering at the Faculty of 3mE. Aimee received Veni funding from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) in August for her research on catheter technology. DirkJan is the former Department Chair and Director of Education at the Faculty of 3mE.
“Managers should embrace (future and current) parents and create an atmosphere within the department in which parenthood is a part of life, including work life.”
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DirkJan Veegers
“I think there should be more support for fathers who want to take parental leave or who have to take care of their sick wife and baby during maternity leave. There are still too many preconceptions about men with caregiving responsibilities.”
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Aimée Sakes
In this interview we talk with Aimée Sakes, Assistant Professor at the Department of Biomechanical Engineering at the Faculty of 3mE and her supervisor Professor DirkJan Veeger at the Department of Biomechanical Engineering at the Faculty of 3mE. Aimee received Veni funding from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) in August for her research on catheter technology. DirkJan is the former Department Chair and Director of Education at the Faculty of 3mE.
What challenges did you face as a parent with an academic career?
Aimée: “After I became pregnant with my second daughter, I couldn’t work more than 50 percent of my hours and I had a lot of guilt. I found it particularly difficult to ask my colleagues to take over my tasks. I felt like I was letting my colleagues down. And I also felt pressure to keep working. Leave doesn’t always come at the right time. So I ended up submitting a large application during my maternity leave, for example. I didn’t want to fall behind in my career.”
Where did you go for support?
Aimée: “For me, it was essential that my manager, DirkJan, understood my situation. I was given time to recover and DirkJan’s confidence in me really helped me get through this phase.”
What can supervisors do to support (future and current) parents?
DirkJan: “It’s really good that Aimée came to me talk about this. It was difficult for her because she felt that she was responsible for the situation. But that’s not the point. Starting a family is part of life. There needs to be understanding and support for that and, above all, common sense. Young, ambitious men and women will usually have children. It’s impossible to carry on working with the same intensity as they did before having a family, and it’s unreasonable to expect that of people. I think it’s important to emphasise that this phase and the challenges that come with it are a responsibility for all of us.”
What do you think the organisation can do to support parents?
DirkJan: “Young people are hugely ambitious, but also feel they have to keep up in the academic race. Maternity leave and illness are events that make you feel like you can’t keep up in the race. This is a sign that the way we value people isn’t really working. We should assess performance in relation to opportunities. This involves evaluating the quality and impact of the staff member’s performance, taking into account the impact of relevant personal circumstances. (Guideline: Assessing achievement relative to opportunity) But we still focus too much on things like the H-index, not least because these are easily quantifiable quantities and we won’t change that easily. Therefore, it’s important that we create an atmosphere in the department in which it is normal to be less productive when you have caregiving responsibilities.”
Aimée: “It’s important for parents to be able to share experiences with other (future and current) parents. Go and have coffee with a pregnant colleague for example, and tell her your story and how you have dealt with these challenges. This helps people feel less isolated and lets them know it’s okay to ask for help. I also think there should be more support for fathers who want to take parental leave or who have to take care of their sick wife and baby during maternity leave. There are still too many preconceptions about men with caregiving responsibilities.”
DirkJan: “I’ve noticed that men hardly ever discuss this. They can, but they don’t. It’s still a taboo subject within the university setting. It all starts with normalising family formation for men and women, and understanding that this phase takes an incredible amount of energy. This is part of life. Managers should embrace (future and current) parents and create an atmosphere within the department in which parenthood is a part of life, including work life.”
If you would like to talk more about this topic with someone from DEWIS, please contact us at dewis@tudelft.nl
As an (international) employee, it might be difficult to find the right information to suit your situation as a parent. There are a number of topics on this page that may be of interest to you.
