SciSis stands for Science Sisters and is a peer support network of early/ish career women working in academia, across all disciplines and roles. It was initiated by four women at UvA in 2023 to address the lack of support structures for women at this point of their careers since this is when many decisive life and career decisions are taken while contractual conditions are often still precarious and mentorship is crucial.

We are open to anyone who identifies as a woman working in academia, across all disciplines (from natural sciences to social sciences and humanities) and roles (researchers are welcome but also teachers, coordinators, project managers etc).

We acknowledge the importance of intersectionality to understand differences in experience and opportunity beyond gender and invite deeper conversations about those. At the same time we feel that being a woman offers a relevant common denominator and shared starting point to be meaningful for our network.

From PDF to culture change

We feel that there is a need to translate the insights about the many known issues that make academia a less than welcoming space for many of us and continue to inhibit gender equality within academia into practice. We want to be part of and inspire others to contribute to real positive culture change.

Show, don’t tell: from peer review to peer support

As SciSis will strive to ‘do’ academia differently by creating spaces for solidarity and collaboration that center peer support. We want to imagine and enact how academia would look like if Academic Care were one of its core values. We believe this will lead to a more diverse and inclusive academic culture as well as better research and outcomes.