The wheels came off completely. I felt like I had to start from scratch. - Patricia Kingori

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.

My time away on maternity leave had really been seen as writing me off. ‘That’s it now, we might never see her again,’ that kind of attitude. I found that very difficult.

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