Patricia Kingori Quotes

Everything started to feel like it was falling apart. Kenya was the main location for my PhD and it didn’t look like I was going to be able to go back safely.

You find yourself wondering what makes a society work and why this society is different to another one.

I left friends and colleagues behind, not sure whether they were going to be OK. I didn’t want to leave, I didn’t believe what I was seeing. I didn’t ever think that I would see dead people in the streets, or face threats of physical violence. It was a very, very dark time.

I’m very conscious that diversity is sometimes skewed to a very narrow interpretation- it’s generally gender diversity, so racial, social class and other forms of diversity get put on the back foot. That is changing, but it’s changing very slowly.

We can try and manage our own careers, but it’s very different to trying to manage other people’s.

It really matters that you work with people who have the same values as you, and who are genuinely interested in creating a good working environment.

Attitudes are changing, but there are still pockets in academia that definitely see having children and a successful career as incompatible.

The idea that there is bullying in academia isn’t new to anybody, but the discussion of it is new and the idea that you don’t have to put up with it is new. It’s important that students and junior members of staff know that because they are often the most vulnerable.

I think academia is just still very conservative in the way that people are hired and promoted.